Venom
by GreggoAddict
Summary: Formerly HELL IS BACK. What does the MMPR&NS&DT have in common? Missing teammates, a common enemy risen from the dead, and saving the world are just a few things. R&R please! UPDATE:23 Chaps because I removed 3 UPDATE pages!
1. Intro

This is my first Power Rangers story so bare with me!

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters!

Hell Is Back

Chapter 1 Intro /

t was just a normal day in Blue Bay Harbor, California. The sky was clear, the sun was hot, and the beach was full. It seemed like everyone had come down on this particular day. There were several volleyball nets up, groups of Frisbee throwers, and numerous girls trying to get as much sun as possible, not that it wasn't hard to get sun on California.

Times in Blue Bay Harbor were as perfect as they could get. Lothor had been gone for three months now and the city was safe again. The city often wondered where the power rangers were but that was a mystery. It seemed that they were gone as quick as the bad guys were.

Tori, Dustin, and Shane had remained at the Ninja Academy, all becoming Sensei's for their particular power. They would be the first ones to tell you how difficult it was to be teacher's at one school while beginning college as students at another. It was hard to give up their powers but, it was needed to save the world and well worth it.

Cam had also became the Samurai Sensei at the Ninja Academy, training highly skilled students. These students were rare for they didn't have the Earth, Air, or Water powers but the Samurai deep down within them.

As for Blake and Hunter, they went back to the Thunder Academy. For their heroics, they were deemed Sensei's as well. Hunter and Blake also had signed on for a motocross racing team, doing that for their side jobs. It was hard to be away from the Wind Ninjas, but this was their destinies.

It was especially hard for Blake and Tori since they long since had a relationship formed. The distance was hard but they managed to balance it out, taking turns to visit one another.

They had reconnected together when Lothor temporarily came back. He had tricked the Wind Ninjas and set them against the team known as the Dino Thunder. With Cam, Hunter, and Blake's quick thinking, they were able to persuade their former teammates into changing their power disks, setting them free of the spell.

This last battle, helping with the Dino Thunder team had totally destroyed their powers. It was just too much. The Dino Thunder had been successful in the destruction of their enemy, giving them peace as well.

Kira had started performing at clubs, getting easily acquainted with talent agencies. She still had school to finish up but was certain she was on the right track she wanted to be on.

Ethan, well, he was Ethan. He continued being his normal brainiac self. He was getting better at hacking, almost sure he'd get a job for the government sooner or later. He knew he wanted to help bring down the bad guys.

Conner was being looked at from several colleges for soccer. He had a year to finish of school like Kira and Ethan but definitely planned on being on his best game and deciding which college would be best for him. He liked the responsibilities he had had as being a power ranger but he wanted to play soccer. That was his calling.

-

"That was awesome Tori!" Dustin cheered as he and Shane met her half way as she came out from the water with her board under her arm.

"Thanks! I wish the waves were a little more stronger." She sighed, sticking her board into the sand to wring out her hair.

"You're going to have to teach us someday you know." Dustin decided for her.

"You're the only one who will need help, it's like skateboarding." Shane told him with a smirk.

"Well Shane, I don't know about that. Water is different that ground." Tori said in her and Dustin's defense. Skateboarding and Surfing were similar but very different.

"I don't think it'd be that hard." He remembered last time thinking he could do something and failing. Motocross definitely wasn't in his blood. He chuckled lightly at the memory of how competitive he and Hunter were then.

"What's so funny?" Tori asked Shane curiously. The matched curiosity on Dustin's expression.

"Nothing, just thinking back on how competitive Hunter and I were. Remember?" He smiled as the other's remembered their testosterone streak. "I miss those guys."

"Yeah dude, no one around here can ride as fast as them. I'm almost bored winning now." Dustin agreed.

"Yeah, me too." Shane regretted bringing them up, knowing it was always more painful for Tori. Sure, it was for Dustin too but he wasn't on that type of level.

"Maybe we should try and see if they've got some free time. Maybe hang out for the weekend or something?" Dustin offered.

"You know, that's probably one of the smartest things that you've ever said." Shane told him, clapping him on the back.

"Thanks dude." Dustin smiled though it was quickly replaced with a look of confusion. "Hey, wait."

Tori and Shane shared a laugh as Dustin, putting it together, laughed as well.

Shane composed himself first, looking out across the beach at two figures. He held his smile. "Looks like we won't have to." At that, both Dustin and Tori followed his eyes.

Tori wanted to run to them but held herself. "Is that really them?"

"Dude, of course it's them."

Blake and Hunter Bradley made their way down the beach. Blake wore a white and navy tee shirt with a short sleeve button down shirt open on top of the shirt. He also wore a pair of swimming trunks. Hunter, being Hunter, wore a long sleeve shirt that was crimson with black designs all over it. He wore a pair of trunks as well.

"Blake, Hunter, what are you guys doing here?" Tori asked as they lessened the gap between the friends.

"We have some business to take care of." Hunter replied to her, his eyes being hid behind sun glasses. Blake in the same manner.

"Really, it's not anything…serious, is it? We haven't heard of anything." Shane said, his voice instantly on edge.

"It's nothing to concern the Wind Ninjas." Blake told him.

"Aren't we supposed to be quiet about that? We can't really say that kind of stuff out loud you know." Dustin told them, almost surprising Shane at his wisdom., though, it would be expected because it was the truth.

"You sure you don't need anything? We can help." Tori piped in, placing her hand gently on Blake's shoulder.

"You and what powers?" Blake replied to her with a smirk, shaking off her hand.

"Hey, what's the deal?" Dustin said, seeing the hurt and confusion in Tori's eyes. He placed his hand firmly on Blake's shoulder.

"No deal here." Hunter retorted, grabbing Dustin by the wrist, quickly turning it around and behind his back, causing him to wince.

"What are you doing? Let him go." Shane said firmly.

"This is your only warning. Stay away." Hunter said coldly, shoving Dustin into Shane.

With that, Blake and Hunter turned to leave, leaving the Wind Ninjas in complete shock.

"Wait!" Shane yelled, as he jogged up to them. He swung Hunter around, causing him to accidentally hit Hunter's sun glasses off of him.

Shane bent down to pick them up, gasping at the result. As he looked up to return the glasses. That normal icy blue eye color was no longer staring at him. Instead, it was crimson. Like blood. "Back off." Hunter said, putting them back on and leaving.

-

"Yeah, his eyes were just crimson. Do you think it's because that's his color? Is the Thunder Academy different?" Shane asked as he, Tori, Dustin, and Cam sat with their Sensei.

"I do not think that happens. The Thunder Ninjas are a more determined type of Ninjas but their eye color to change. That's not normal." Sensei told them as he thought long and hard.

"You don't think anything bad happened to them, do you?" Tori asked, obviously more concerned about their safety. They were all worried but again, Tori was far more.

"It is hard to say. I will contact Sensei Omino and asked if there was an attack." At this said, Sensei stood up, crossed the room and left to go into his chambers to meditate.

"Dude, I so don't want to have to fight those guys again. They're tough." Dustin exclaimed, ending the awkward silence between the three.

"We won't have much of a chance anyways, especially if they can morph and we can't." Shane said, the thought that had been in their minds all along.

"Yeah, my Samurai power was drained last time. I don't know what it would take to get that power back, if at all possible." Cam frowned, remembering being told that it was done.

"Maybe, well, Hunter was always the tougher, less opened individual." Tori thought out loud, the worry filled her voice quickly. "What if something happened to him and Blake has no idea about it!"

"Tori, we both know that if something had happened to Hunter, Blake would be the first to pick up on it." Cam told her. She sighed, just hoping that maybe Blake could be saved.

"It appears we have a problem on our hands." Sensei said, his eyes full of despair and distress.

--

"Where's Conner? What's taking him so long?" Ethan frowned as he and Kira waited at a café for their friend to show up.

The three were no longer bonded by being rangers but it never stopped them with their friendship. They tried to get together at least two to three times a week just to talk.

"You know Conner, he's probably at the soccer field, losing complete track of time." Kira told her friend, taking a sip of her water. It wasn't weird for Conner to be late because of soccer.

"Yeah, I know. I just can't but always feel anxious." It was like that for Kira too she just was better at hiding her emotions.

After being a power ranger, anything that could be perceived as a bad sign, she wondered if it was a new evil villain. Would Dr. O would come back and get them, telling them they once again must protect the earth?

Letting the thought linger, it disappeared as she saw Conner approaching them. He wore jeans and a red tee shirt, obviously telling them he wasn't playing soccer.

"Dude, why are you wearing shades?" Ethan asked as Conner came to their table, yet to sit down.

"Yeah, you do know we're inside right?" Kira agreed with Ethan. She couldn't help but get a bad feeling about this.

"I have some business to take care of." Conner told them, his voice flat.

"What kind of business? Don't tell me you're like a men in black now?" Ethan joked, it cut short by Conner's glare. He couldn't see his eyes, but knew he was receiving one.

"Can we help? Is it _that _kind of bad?" Kira asked, her voice changing on 'that'.

"Nothing rangers need to concern about." A table next to the trio gave them a weird look. Ethan and Kira looked at them, to each other, and then back to Conner.

Kira stood up; Ethan not far behind. "Shh. What are you thinking?" Kira snapped at him quietly.

"Just stay out of my way." Conner told them as he gave the table a glare as well.

"Conner stop. What's wrong?" Ethan asked. "And take off those stupid shades." He said, ripping the off the taller boys face.

Kira gasped because of two things. One was Conner's eye color and two was the fact that Conner was able to grab his sun glasses out of Ethan's hands at the same time, shoving the boy so hard he almost flew across the entire room if a table hadn't stopped him.

Kira ran over to the fallen Ethan who was in daze, looking up to watch Conner walk away. "Oh no."

-

"Dr. O, something is definitely wrong with Conner." They had explained to him what had gone on in the café. "What should we do?"

"Haley and I will check in on it." Dr. O told the teens as he frowned. What had happened to Conner. He had just seen the boy earlier that day. He knew Conner had to go to a meeting with a college about soccer but that was it.

"You don't think it's something bad, do you?" Though, what else could explain red eyes. Almost a crimson color.

"I don't kn…" Dr. O was cut off by a loud, almost exploding sound from above. He looked at Kira and Ethan and then Haley before running up the stairs, the other three not far from his heels.

"What was that?" Ethan asked as they ran to the front door. Tommy and Kira already outside.

Looking around, it looked as if a meteor had hit. Three houses across the street were in rubble. Tommy knew that one of the families had left for vacation, one was at work, but the third, he didn't know. He ran across the street to that house.

It didn't look like anyone had been home either, luckily, that was until he heard a soft moan.

Scanning the area quickly, he saw a man's arm underneath the parts of the house. It looked like it was the worst place that got hit out of the whole area.

"Someone's under here, help me!" Tommy called to the others.

After a few more minutes of shifting and moving the pieces that had fallen on top of the man, they were able to free him. The dark haired guy stumbled out of the area he was in. It looked like some sort of portal.

He looked up, ushering a gasp from Tommy.

"Long time no see, eh Tommy?" The man said. He was well fit and handsome, so thought Kira anyways. Haley probably did too.

"What...how did you, where did you…?" Tommy was unable to say anything as he looked around for how Rocky had gotten there.

"There's much I need to tell you old friend."

"Rocky."

"Lord Zedd is back."

-

Well, so much for a first chapter huh? I'm really hoping I write this well enough. Obviously, Carter? Is that his name, from Dino Thunder? Lol, he's not going to be playing a part in the story. I didn't watch enough Dino Thunder to get into his character.

This is going to be a MMPR, NS, & DT crossover. I really hope I'll be able to get it down.

My main focus characters are the NS team but I wanted a few others to be in it as well. I'm not a slash writer so none of that will belong to this story. Not that I'm against it, It' just not my writing style.

Wish me luck, write me reviews, and keep be inspired to finish this!!


	2. Background Information

I couldn't help myself so I decided to go ahead and write the second chapter! Please R&R!

Hell Is Back

Chapter 2 Background Information /

"Rocky as in Rocky one of the first power rangers?" Ethan asked enthused. By this time, the five had returned back inside Tommy's house, seated around the kitchen table.

"Well, not exactly. He was one of the first Ninjetti rangers." Tommy told him. Jason had just given Rocky his powers, making him a member of the original team.

Ethan gave a slight 'oh' sound, deciding to reread all his research. Kira was staring at him with curiosity.

"What was that thing you were in?" Kira asked, looking out the window at the police and fire trucks that began to clean up the area.

Rocky too turned, seeing the devastation. "It's called a Portal Open Device, or just, POD. I wish I could say it was my horrible driving that caused all that." He frowned. Tommy noted that there seemed to be a crease on his forehead from frowning too often.

"What's going on Rock?" Tommy asked, calling him the same name he used back when they were rangers.

"Well, it happened so fast. You know that myself, Adam, and Jason are still very close, right?" Tommy nodded, wanting to hear what had gone on. "We were sparring outside of the dojo we work at when, there was a blast of…something." He trailed off into the memory.

"_Rocky, you're starting to get a little slower you know." Jason smirked as he quickly ducked from a kick from Adam. _

"_You're getting a big head about all of it." Rocky said back as he too blocked a hit from Adam, trying to kick his friend but getting blocked as well._

"_There's nothing wrong with that." Jason said, swinging his leg below them. Adam jumped but Rocky hadn't realized what was going on, landing on his back. _

_The three laughed, Jason giving his hand to offer Rocky help. They had just finished a training session with their students and decided to release some more of the adrenaline that was going through the three. _

"_Let's get some water." Adam decided as he walked near the entrance. Rocky followed as Jason remained, stretching. _

"_I'll be right in." Jason said. Rocky nodded. It wasn't weird that Jason would want to stretch before going back inside to relax._

_Adam and Rocky made their way towards their smaller kitchen in the back to grab some water bottles. Rocky had just pressed the bottle to his lips when a loud eruption pierced through their ears. _

"_Jason!" They both said in unison as they dropped their waters, running outside. What they saw outside shocked them._

_A giant, ship like structure was hovering above the dojo. Jason was fighting several identical creatures, they reminding them of the putties. They just looked a lot stronger than those._

_Adam and Rocky instantly went to help their friend, kicking, swinging, punching, anything that got into their way. They were all holding their own fine. Sure, they weren't used to fights like this but it came naturally to them from past experiences._

"_Who are these guys?" Rocky asked, as the three were back to back, sizing up their foes. _

"_I don't know but this isn't a good thing." A cackling laughter from above them caught them by surprise, turning their blood cold. _

"_It's been a long time, rangers." The voice snarled. In an instant, the three were on their feet to laying on the floor. _

_The man behind the voice had caused a beam to bring them onto the ship, instantly causing a brief confusion, giving the minions enough time to sedate the rangers. _

_They had shackles on their hands, unable to fight for the moment. Rocky noticed that not to far away from them were PODs. Maybe, they'd be able to set a diversion and get away. _

"_Well, well, well, look what we have here." The man said, stepping out of the shadows. He looked the same as he did years before only there was the obvious older wisdom in his voice. Tired. Angry. It was all there._

"_Zedd. We thought you were destroyed years ago." Jason spat, trying to move to fight him but was restrained. _

"_That's what you thought indeed. It appears you were wrong." A shrilling laughter caught their attention, annoyance played on not only the rangers but Zedd to. _

"_Rita." Adam whispered. She went over to Zedd's side. She too hadn't changed much but her once pitch black hair seemed to have faded to a dark grayish color._

"_It's good you remember us, Jason, Rocky, and Adam." There was a hint of deep hatred on Rita's tongue at the mention of each of the names. _

"_What do you want?" Jason asked taking the leader position of the three._

"_We want you to join us." Zedd said simply. Jason laughed, catching both Adam and Rocky by surprise. _

"_We'd rather die before we help you." Rocky said defiantly. _

"_Oh young ranger, we have ways to convince you otherwise. Go get her." Rocky, and the other two froze, wondering what he was talking about. Did they have one of their friends? _

_No. No hostage scenarios. It was worse. Rocky wasn't there so he hadn't known why Jason had a fearful look in his eye or why Adam kept glancing over at him again._

_Divatox came into the chamber followed closely behind Rita. "Yes master." She said._

"_Open the crater in section 3432f to get them ready." Divatox looked at the rangers, a smile passing on her lips at Jason. "Welcome back." With that, she left the room. _

_With a nod of his head, the goons holding onto the three friends moved them to what they could only assume as section 34whatever it was. Jason grimaced at the sight before them._

_It was a circular room with nothing in it. The only thing to spark interest was the covered hole in the middle of the room. Divatox moved to the side of the room, taking her necklace off. The key that she had was pushed into the hole in the wall, causing the lid on the centered hole to move, revealing the inside of it._

_Rocky then realized what it was. During the fight with Divatox, Rocky had been in the hospital, unable to help his friends out. Jason and Kim had been kidnapped and turned evil because of this lava. The monster who once lived in it, Maligore, had been destroyed thanks to the power rangers but his evil within the lava remained. _

_Anyone evil put into it would die but anyone who had a good soul would be turned evil. _

"_Jason, you remember this right"? Divatox laughed, lifting her hands up. The men looked up above the pit, their stomachs turning, wanting them to get sick, especially Jason._

_Above the pit were two boys. One was obviously taller than the other, muscular, and blonde. The other was somewhat shorts, toned with dark hair. The taller one wore crimson clothes while the other wore navy. They were binded by their wrists, unable to get free. _

_The blonde one looked like he was in worse pain than the other. A closer look would show that he had been stabbed in the shoulder and that the pain of his weight on it was agonizing._

"_Hunter, what are we going to do?" The one wearing navy asked frantically, looking down at their impending doom._

"_I…" The one named Hunter, seemed at a loss of words. "Whatever happens Blake, I love you bro." _

"_I love you too." _

"_STOP! Please, let them go!" Jason practically growled. The two boys suspended in the air looked over at the three, feeling bad for them as well as their selves, wondering if they were rangers._

"_I'm afraid we can't do that, they're too strong to waste." Zedd said, Rocky hadn't even realized he joined them._

_It seemed like minutes passed before the boys were no longer able to be seen. Jason, Adam, and Rocky all had struggled against their captors but to no avail. It was too late. _

_The lava shot up fiercely before settling again. There was a few crackling sounds before another bright light flashed with the risen lava. In an instant, the two boys were standing side by side. _

_They looked untouched but from what Jason and the other's had told Rocky, they weren't the same. He could see it now. The scared pairs of eyes he had seen moments before were clouded over with the color crimson. The one wearing crimson seemed like his burned even more if that was possible._

"_No." Jason said sadly. The boys broke the chain cuffs holding their wrists, standing off the platform near the edge of the hole, coming closer to Zedd. They bowed at the same time onto one knee. "Master." _

_A blast from another room, sent most of the goons away along with Zedd and Rita. _

_The two now evil boys remained, eying the three suspiciously. "Maybe we should just do it ourselves." The blond snickered._

"_No, we have to wait for the command." The shorter one responded. It looked like there was a glare formed on the blonde's façade but the shorter one ignored it. _

"_This is our only chance. We've got to get to one of those PODs." Rocky whispered to the others. They nodded and began fighting. It was hard to do with their hands binded in front of them but they could deal with it._

_They got rid of the putty look-a-likes easily but the two boys stood in the way of the door. The smaller one went for Adam while the taller attacked both Rocky and Jason._

_Rocky was kicked out of the way while Jason continued to fight. The two were a lot stronger, especially with the evil surging through them. _

"_Rocky, get out of here! This is your chance!" Adam yelled as he was kicked viciously in the gut, doubling over instantly._

"_No...I can't.." Rocky was cut off._

"_Rocky go! Before you get thrown in. You can get help! We'll be okay!" With that said and one more last look, Rocky took off back down the ship. It wasn't hard to find the PODs. _

_He had to fight off several goons before getting to one. He hit the button for the POD to begin and let the humming begin. He was able to find a laser to get the bindings off his wrists, rubbing them lightly._

"And then, I guess one of them were able to get a shot on the POD, hence the crash." Rocky finished, his head spinning from the painful memory.

"So Divatox, Rita, and Zedd are all back?" Tommy asked in surprise. He wasn't too surprise about Divatox but was almost certain that the other two had been destroyed for quite some time.

"Yeah. Maligore is no longer but that pit, it's on his ship." Rocky frowned.

"The two guys that you saw, what colors were they wearing?" Kira asked, suddenly tensed beyond normal.

"Blue and Red but they were closer to a Crimson and Navy. I wondered if maybe they were rangers but I haven't kept up in rangers in so long." Rocky frowned, seeing how scared they were.

"You don't think they're.." Ethan was cut off.

"Hunter and Blake. It had to be." Kira frowned, sadness enveloping the whole room. Tommy filled Rocky in on the brothers, who they were and the battle that brought them and the Wind Ninjas together.

"Do you think Tori and them know?" Kira asked suddenly. "Could they be captured or in danger?"

"Kira. Conner must have been captured." Ethan said sadly. It made sense then why he had acted the way he did. He had the crimson eyes. They all frowned, thinking that they should have seen it coming.

"We'll get him back Kira." Tommy said to the girl who looked very bothered by the news.

"I'll contact Sensei Watanabe and let him know of Hunter and Blake." Haley piped in, surprising them all.

"What's he want with two thunder ninjas, Conner, and former rangers?" Tommy asked, knowing they had no answer for that.

-

"Why didn't you get him when you had the chance? This is your only warning. Bring him to me!"

"Yessir."

-

Before Sensei had any information to give the Wind Ninjas, he telepathically told his students that it was no longer safe to be at the academy for now. There was an evil force coming and that if they were here they could risk being captured or worse.

The telepathic order had gotten to Dustin, Shane, Tori, and Cam and they anxiously awaited his presence to fill them in.

A familiar looking box was under Sensei's arm as he came back. He sat it on the table, taking a seat. The other's quickly followed suit.

"Sensei, what's going on?" Shane asked immediately.

"There is much to inform you on Shane." Sensei said, his facial expression grave.

"Sensei Omino's presence was weak when I got to him. He will be okay but I'm not sure where he and his remaining students have gone."

"Remaining students?" Cam cut in.

"It seems that there has once again been an attack; a devastating one. Some students were taken captive but not all of them got so lucky." This struck a nerve into the former rangers. Sure, they knew they were always saving the world, but, no one had ever died. The villains were evil but never to that extent.

After it sank in, Sensei continued. "Sensei Omino was doing well to defend himself but was in desperate need of help. Hunter and Blake came to his aid immediately." He paused, listening to the memory in his mind that Omino gave him. "There was a bad scuffle and someone had tried to kill Blake." Sensei was interrupted by an involuntary squeak from Tori. Dustin put his arm around her for support.

"Hunter took the hit instead. Hunter was stabbed through and through his left shoulder with a blade sticking in it. Blake went to his side, helping remove it. He held onto his brother. The next thing Sensei Omino saw was the two disappear by the faintest light of a beam. If he hadn't been paying as much attention, then he wouldn't have seen it."

Letting what had happened to their friends hit, Sensei closed his eyes, then opened them looking at the box. Tori had silently been crying while Dustin stared down at the table. Shane crossed his arms as Cam watched his father.

"What of the students?" Cam asked.

"Most of them were able to escape but a vast majority were taken, for what, I cannot be certain. There were at least fifteen that lost their lives."

A long silence filled the air for a long time. Tori had quit crying but the streaks remained on her face. Dustin's arm had tightened on her shoulders but not to cause any pain, it was more stress. Shane hadn't changed his position and Cam continued to look at his father.

"It is time for you three to reclaim your powers." At this, the three head's snapped up, looking at Sensei.

"What? I thought we could never use them again." Shane said, his voice almost causing them to jump since he had been silent.

"I'm afraid to tell you I had lied. You see, the power is so strong that it is better to let the one who has it believe it is gone. That way the power can never be used for evil." He could see the hurt in their eyes.

"We'd never turn evil Sensei." Dustin said though slightly regretted it, remembering being under the influence of an evil power disk.

"This I know Dustin, you all possess good hearts. As the Sensei Master it is my duty to protect the power. There will always be a new set of rangers but the power from the former rangers never died. It's still inside you." Sensei told them, placing his hand over his own heart.

"Cameron, your samurai pendant was in fact destroyed but your heart of the samurai is still there. You all must channel the energy back. It is not easy, but I assure you, it will come back." Sensei finished. They all looked quite confused but knew that it was something the had to do.

"I want you all to go meditate. You must connect with the powers you possess. Go to where you feel closest to that power. Be careful though. You must stay aware. I am not sure that it is safe to be out there." Sensei told them, a hint of worry on his face.

Tori, Dustin, and Shane left quickly knowing they needed to do this quickly. Cam stayed back, knowing that his home was the place he felt closest.

"Father, do you think Hunter and Blake were killed?" He asked worriedly.

"I do not think that is the case. Hunter and Blake are the same as all of you. The power is still inside of them. Whoever attacked them, might know that too."

"That's what I'm afraid of." He was relieved that the two were probably alive but worried what may have happened to them. He left to go into his room to begin his meditation.

Sensei Watanabe felt a presence calling for him. He listened to it hard, realizing he would need to contact this person. It worried him that they too may be in danger as well.

"Sensei, we think we've got a problem." Haley's voice said through the phone. Sensei was more into the mind and conversation that way but it was a lot harder for people who were no ninjas to do so, so, he called her.

"We do too."

-

Well, there's that! I hope I can get this together pretty well. I'm trying to get most of the background out of the way.

Let me explain the rangers I'll be using;

Obvious NS will all be there.

DT is focused only on Kira, Ethan, Conner, and Tommy.

For MMPR, it is a little different. I know Rocky wasn't apart of the original team. Going with original, that would mean Zach and Trini would be apart of this story but I'm not using them either. I guess technically I'm using the Ninjetti Rangers plus Jason. Jason is apart of the story because well, I want him to be and he's one of the best rangers, especially being that he was the leader of the first set of rangers.

I hope that clears up any and all confusion! Thanks. Please R&R what you think!!


	3. Connections

So I've noticed a few people have left me reviews which I really appreciate! I'm hoping to get more of course. My muse is strong now but that doesn't mean it'll last and sometimes getting reviews convince me not to give up!

Hell Is Back

Chapter 3 Connections /

Tori hadn't needed to go too far for the place she felt closest to the water was the waterfall. This waterfall being the entrance to their Ninjas Ops. She mediated under the waterfall, letting herself become soaked. She didn't mind it for it was her element after all.

She wasn't sure how to tap into her powers exactly. How was she supposed to get something that she hadn't even known still existed? It was hard for her to concentrate since he thoughts kept going back to Blake and Hunter, but especially Blake. She hoped that the injury Hunter got was minor but she knew how scared and angry Blake must have been at himself for letting it happen.

He probably was blaming himself for his brother's injury as well as their capture. She wanted him to know that they didn't blame him and of course Hunter would be the last to do so. Hunter was probably raging a war inside him mind for what had happened.

Sighing, Tori closed her eyes once more, trying to concentrate on evening out her breathing, only to focus on that and trying to find the power within herself.

_Before she knew it, a dolphin was present. It was beautiful. "Where have you been?" The dolphin asked, sounding almost hurt?_

"_I..I didn't know you still existed." Tori told it. It was weird to be talking to the animal. The animal's mouth didn't move but it's thoughts went straight into Tori's mind. _

"_I've always been here. You think that your morphers had all the power?"_

"_Yeah, we all did. I need your help. Our friends…Blake, he's in trouble." She said sadly._

"_I'll always be here to help. Just call on the power and you will possess it once more." _

With that, Tori opened her eyes, glad to be successful. She could almost feel the rush of the power coming back to her, tingling even.

-

Shane decided to go a little further, up onto a mountain top. Using his ninja streak, it was easy to get there and back within a minute or so. His mind was as busy as Tori's was. He couldn't concentrate. It seemed odd that he would be the one who had trouble meditating the most since Dustin had a attention span of a two year old.

He frowned, recalling everything that was told to them, the anger coming from having to be on the opposite team as Hunter and Blake. It was sad to have to fight them, again. Shane was probably the one person who was the least close, he knew once again.

That was probably why he was more angry than worried about the two. He did trust them but it took a lot to get it. He never fully trusted Hunter only because the two clashed so much. During battles, he knew Hunter had his back as he had his, but, there was always something. Maybe it was the tension of two leaders coming together. There couldn't be two alpha males, only one. Shane took the role of leader while Hunter fell bad. Shane wondered why it had seemed so easy? Maybe Blake talked him into it.

He let the thought leave his mind, more anger rising at the fact that Hunter would just back down instead of face him. That's not how it went down. It just, happened. Shane just assumed the role as the leader.

He frowned, letting out a deep breath he hadn't realized he was holding. Sitting down in a meditative stance, he let go of all the suppressed anger. It was as if the air took it right out of him.

"_You've summoned me. Is everything alright?" A hawk asked in Shane's mind. It was weird to see his animal being actually talking to him. It was as if it had a soul._

"_You know I can hear you." Shane probably blushed on the outside._

"_I'm sorry. I need your help, my…friends are in trouble." He faltered slightly, unsure of what to call them. He hated that he even had to think if they were friends or not. Of course they were, he was just being foolish. _

"_Call on me for you know I'll always be here." _

Shane opened his eyes, content that it wasn't so hard. He too felt the power surging through him.

-

Dustin had known of a nearby vacant cave which would probably suit him best since he'd be in the complete security of the earth. He walked into it a little further where there was less light, taking a seat on the ground.

He too was worried about his friends but was probably the easiest at meditation since he had been eager to get this done. His heart for his friends were so strong that he could focus when it was needed.

Taking a small breath, Dustin shut his eyes, waiting for something to happen. The only problem was it was a lot harder than he had thought. Clearing his concentration of everything that wanted to go through his mind was easy, but waiting for something he didn't know what, was hard.

_I'm hungry, I wonder who won the race today. Did I have to work today? Shoot! I think I did. Kelly's going to kill me. And I think I needed to get some stuff for the academy. Oh wait, it's been cancelled for now to save the students from Hunter and Blake. They can't be bad again. Come on, that's not fair. They don't need this again. What if they're really bad? No, they're not. They could be. You have trust problems. Remember Marah? Of course you do, she's one of your students. You trusted her and she got you good. Shut up. No. Yeah. _

"Ugh!" Dustin said as he opened his eyes, failing for a moment. He could have concentrated if he knew what to concentrate on. Since it appeared to him that he had no idea what to concentrate on, his normal thoughts came instead.

He would have jumped out of his sitting position if he hadn't realized he was in his mind. A massive lion had entered, sitting down across from Dustin.

"_Great, I'm going to be eaten." Dustin thought in his mind. The lion looked almost amused._

"_No Waldo, I'm not going to eat you." The lion said. Like the Dolphin and Hawk, their mouths never moved. They spoke within their owner's minds._

"_Dude, don't call me that. It's Dustin." He said, embarrassed by his real name. He so was going to change it legally someday. _

"_Dustin, what is it that you need?" _

"_Some of my friends got captured and are evil…again." He frowned at the truth of the words. "I need your help."_

"_Then I am here for you. Call on me." _

At that, Dustin's eyes popped open. He chanced a look across from him, breathing a sigh of relief that a huge lion wasn't sitting across from him ready for lunch. He stood up, wiping off his pants from sitting on the ground, walking out of the cave.

-

"How many former rangers do you think could be in danger?" Rocky asked Tommy as they sat in the living room.

"I don't know. There's so many. Most of them have been long retired. I don't think we should call upon them unless they're in danger." Tommy answered his friend. They, their former team, had been attacked.

"Yeah, but, what if we don't and it's too late?" Rocky said, his hand around a bottle of water.

Tommy had thought the same thing. There were so many sets of rangers during the past fifteen years that rangers had been on earth that he had trouble keeping track of them. "We don't know if Zedd knows about them all. Maybe keeping them out, well also protect them?" He figured hopefully.

"But he must know of the Dino Thunder since he has one, he knows our team is still alive, and the Wind Ninja rangers."

"And the Thunder Academy only had two rangers and he has them." He frowned.

"You think we should get a hold of the others?" Rocky asked, worry present in his voice.

Tommy nodded. "Yeah, it's time."

In no time, Tommy had found on his computer his updated contacts on his former team. Billy had been doing top secret government jobs and currently lived in Washington D.C.

"He would." Rocky smirked. Billy was a genius, that was certain.

The next person to find was Aisha. It appeared that she had her own animal rescue police team in Florida. She also had been going to Africa several times out of the year to help out the animals endangered there. It put a smile to their face to see their friend still helping out.

The last and to Tommy's slight dismay was Kim. He hadn't spoken to her in so long. So much had happened since they had last talked. He wanted to see her again, it would just be hard. He knew that Jason and her had grew an even stronger bond after being kidnapped. He knew he was jealous of it but let it go. That was his best friend and his ex girl and he cared for them both.

Kim had remained in Angel Grove for years before leaving for New York. She was fulfilling her dream of being a great gymnast. She was getting older and it seemed that she was considering becoming a teacher now. She could still do everything since she was in her twenties, but gymnast teams look for younger girls.

He was able to get a hold of them all, telling them that it was urgent they come. He didn't want to go into much detail just that someone was in trouble. They would be too if they didn't come soon enough.

"I just spoke with Sensei. It seems that they knew about Hunter and Blake already. I told him about Conner. He thinks we should meet soon." Haley told Tommy and Rocky as she, followed by Kira and Ethan, came back into the room.

"How are they with their powers?" Tommy asked automatically, this thought also in Rocky's mind.

"They've gone out to retrieve them from within. Has Rocky done it yet?" Rocky looked at her shocked before giving Tommy a curious look.

"Yeah, there was something I needed to tell you but, I wanted to wait until the rest were here." Tommy said to Rocky.

"You mean, I still have powers?" Rocky asked, dismissing what Tommy had just said.

"Yeah, I mean we technically never can lose them. They were given to us for a reason." He too went into the same discussion Sensei had had with the Wind Ninjas. He just had to harness the power and it would come back.

"How would I morph?" Rocky asked, figuring it'd be easy to do the summoning thing.

Tommy blushed slightly as he got up. He walked over to where the stairs were to the lab.

Rocky followed him as did Kira and Ethan and lastly, Haley.

"Like I said, I wanted to wait but…" He hit another button, Rocky being stuck where he was standing. There, on a platform that came out of a part of the wall, was his morphed, along with the other's.

He reached out for it, it feeling heavy in his hand. "Wow."

"I was able to retrieve them all and all they need is for you to get your power back to work. Just like old times." Rocky murmured to himself.

"Same goes for you two and Conner." He sighed at the statement. He didn't want to bring Conner up right now. "The power is still with you. Here's your morphers."

Unlike the other former rangers, their deed wasn't completely over yet. They hadn't given up their powers or used all the 'juice.' They took their morphers, putting them on their wrists.

"Sweet! I missed this thing!" Ethan said, adding a little happiness in the air.

"Speak for yourself." Kira whined as she looked at the big morpher on her wrist. It was definitely a fashion trend she wasn't into. It didn't go with anything.

"What now?" Ethan asked.

"We wait for the others to join, then we go to Blue Bay Harbor."

-

Tori had been the first to come back to Ninja Ops, almost glowing with excitement. She was so happy that she was able to get her power back. She had already put her morpher on her wrist and tried it out. It felt good to be back in her uniform.

She had demorphed and sat in the corner of the area, waiting for the next person to arrive.

She didn't have long to remain in her thoughts of how Blake was doing before Shane entered the room.

They shared their excitement and how they were able to get their power back.

"Wasn't it weird seeing your animal?" Shane asked her.

"I don't know. I thought it was kind of cool." Tori told him, recalling the animal in her mind.

"Dustin gets a lion, that's sweet." Shane smirked as they sat, now joined with Cam.

Cam was almost certain that he had spoken to his mother before the power came back to him. It was as if she had brought the power back to his morpher. It was thrilling to have it back.

"Where's Dustin?" Sensei asked as he came into the room.

"He probably fell asleep." Shane said, letting the joke hang in the air. Only Sensei didn't find it funny.

"I'm concerned." At those words, Shane, Tori, and Cam jumped to their feet.

"What is it father?" Cam asked immediately.

"I fear he may be in trouble." Sensei frowned. "I sense him somewhere in the forest, deep down. But, he's not alone."

He didn't have to say anymore. The three friends ninja streaked out of Ninja Ops and through out the forest.

It didn't take them along before they saw dust rustled up over a hill. They ran to the area, horror struck to their face.

In front of their eyes was Dustin pinned to the ground by Hunter's foot, Blake starting to stand, wiping away what could have been blood from the side of his mouth.

"Quite a hit there Dustin." Blake smirked as he came near.

"Let him up!" Shane yelled. Dustin looked over as best he could, glad to see his friends but grunted in pain as Hunter pushed his foot down harder.

"This doesn't concern you." Blake told them, facing them to prepare to fight.

Dustin took the slight distraction as his chance. He grabbed Hunter's ankle, twisting it and rolling out of the way as the larger male hit the ground.

Dustin went to join his teammates except that Blake had kicked back, sending Dustin back into a warmer body. Not warm. It was on fire.

He had been sent flying right into Hunter's quickly standing body. Hunter put both arm's arm Dustin's in a bear hug almost. "Dude, let me go!"

Goodbye Rangers." Blake smirked.

Shane, Tori, and Cam stood in horror as they disappeared.

-

Three chapters in like one day is a record probably! I'm obviously bored and itching to get this story out! I'm glad I'm getting a little bit of a response from some of you!

I obviously haven't watched MMPR for a long time. I had probably quit watching them after the ninjetti-ish season because even as a six year old, I hated watching them change rangers! Not until Ninja storm did I start to get back into it, again only watching that season then Dino Thunder just sparked my interested but I haven't seen much of that season either.

This is kind of my version of how it all goes down and went down, I'm trying to stay as to the plot as possible but, it's not that easy!

ALSO! Weesta, if you read this story, I hope it doesn't seem like yours. I too am having the powers to always sort of be with them, to make sense as to how they'll still be rangers. I totally hope that that is okay! I think it makes the best kind of sense and that I don't want them to ever be able to 'lose' their powers. You know? I hope you do read this though and enjoy it!

Last, sorry about the slight typos! Sometimes I don't notice and am too eager to post the chapter that I competely am unaware!

R&R pleaseee!


	4. Assemble The Soldiers

Yay for the excellent feedback from you guys! I really love seeing the reviews in my inbox! Please continue to show me the love, or the critics, I can take it!

Also, to clear up what I tried to say in a previous chapter, Trent, not Carter, is the one that won't be in this story. I never watched Dino Thunder to get much of a knack for his character so he won't be here! Sorry to the Trent fans! I'm just going to pretend he wasn't there! Sorry again!

Last, it had taken Rocky a day to get from the ship to earth because, the POD sucks and is slow! So, that'll help make some more sense of this!

Hell Is Back

Chapter 4 Assemble The Soldiers /

(a day ago)

The last thing Conner remembered was walking towards the soccer field to meet with a coach from the University of California. He saw the man, his back to Conner, wearing a suit.

"Um... Mr. Shrock?" Conner asked, coming up a few feet behind the older man.

"Right on time ranger." The man said before swinging around quickly. He caused a shocking energy surge out of his hands and hit Conner directly in the chest, sending him sailing to the ground.

He laid there dazed for a moment before he realized he was in trouble. The shock hurt but he was more determined to not go down so easily.

Standing up quickly, Conner took a fighting stance. "Who are you?"

"Come with my easily or we'll do it the hard way." The man sneared, Conner seeing the man's whole form begin to change. It looked like a giant ape with golden wings. He looked familiar though Conner knew he had never actually met the creature before.

"I prefer the hard way." Conner smirked, dodging another blast. The monster was anticipating the move, hitting Conner in the face with a staff that had materialized in his hand when he transformed.

Conner saw spots dancing around his eyes as he tried to keep focus. Seeing the staff come back down towards him was all he saw before everything was black.

When he became aware again, he knew he was lying on the ground. This definitely couldn't be good was all that was running through his mind.

He felt his body mentally for any damage, finding two things wrong. One, his head was definitely killing him. No doubt there was a bruise on the side of his head and probably a mini concussion.

The second was he was on his back, his hands tied in front of him. Why would they tie them in front of him? They must have assumed that his hit to the head would have knocked him out for a lot longer. They were definitely wrong.

Hearing a faint shout, caused him to inwardly scowl. What was going on? Was someone in danger? Were his friends in danger? Shoot. He chanced a peek, glad that nothing had noticed him.

Looking around with one eye, he saw several pairs of legs standing near him, obviously keeping guard. There was only one way in and one way out in the room he was contained in.

Knowing it was now or never, he took a deep breath. He kicked one of the closest goons. He was able to knock it down, rolling to his side, and pushing himself up in a standing position.

He got into the best fighting stance he could, beginning to block and dodge blows to his head and sides, landing a few punches too. Conner knew there were too many around him, so he used his speed ability to get away from them. He did so, deciding to try and pick them off one by one.

He was able to knock a few down, staying down. One was a lot bigger, looking different than the others. It was the one that had attacked him. The one that looked somewhat like a winged ape, but with a gold plated body. Great.

Conner ducked a swing from the staff, using his speed as a force hard enough to knock the monster down. He did so, nailing it into an assortment of tools. The sound was loud, Conner knowing more people, well, things had to have heard it. A few liquids smeared together. Seeing the panicked expression on the gold monster, Conner backed up. The chemicals mixed together, causing a small explosion which sent everyone in the room against the walls.

Before Conner was able to stand again, he was jerked up by his collar roughly. He looked up, the feeling of doom lurking when he saw the gold monster had a strong hold on him. "Who are you?" Conner demanded.

"I am Goldar, your worst nightmare." He snickered, shoving Conner into the wall so hard that his head hit the wall before his body did. Before Conner's head was able to rest on his chest, he was already unconscious.

-

Dustin knew he did not like the whole teleporting thing. It made you feel nauseated like no other. He was sure he'd have collapsed to the floor if it wasn't for the man he knew as a friend holding him in a vice grip. He was sure he was going to swear pretty soon, Hunter was on fire.

"Let go!" Dustin complained, trying to wiggle out of Hunter's strong hold. Hunter didn't budge much to Dustin's dismay. This sucked. He wondered what was going to happen now.

Blake smirked at Dustin in his attempt at freedom. "Just give up. You'll be joining us very soon." Dustin didn't like the sound of that. He felt so helpless. Now he knew how Daphne probably felt in Scooby Doo.

Looking around the room, Dustin took in the surroundings the same as Rocky had, but there was a difference in the room from then and now. Dustin saw two men standing on the other side of what looked like some sort of pit.

He noticed that the one wearing black was in some type of a ninja uniform, one he had never seen before. There was a band over his forehead, but he was unsure as to what the symbol was since he wasn't close enough. Maybe a frog?

The man next to him was wearing all red attire. He was dressed in what looked like karate scrubs. The man was obviously built, his cut off like sleeves proving that. The stare he received from the two sent a wave of panic down Dustin's spine. Were they evil? The way they were attached to specific colors made Dustin wonder if they were possibly power rangers?

He then had realized that Blake and Hunter were in the ninja uniforms, the same ones they would wear during most of their hand to hand combats during enemies. It was usually what all the rangers wore before actually transforming into their ranger uniforms. Blake donned the navy color while Hunter wore his crimson.

Then, out from another room came another wearing red. He also wearing a suit that had to be one that the boy would genuinely wear before transforming into a ranger. Dustin knew this for sure because he knew the boy. The boy met eye contact with Dustin and smirked.

"Surprised to see me Dustin?" Conner said, walking around the pit towards the three. The other two men decided to see what was going on, ending up flanking the boy.

"Conner, dude, not you too. What's going on?" Dustin said, a definite hint of sadness in his voice. It was five to one and Dustin knew the odds were no where near his favor. He was screwed.

"What do you mean? You're the one who is on the wrong side." Conner frowned as if the idea of being against them was absurd.

"No, you've been tricked or something. Blake, dude, come on, how can you not remember me? And Tori?" Dustin said, pulling from Hunter but knowing it was useless. He almost thought he saw some sort of insight in Blake's eyes at the name of Tori but it was quickly replaced by annoyance.

"You're traitors. Both of you. All you rangers." Blake told him coldly, receiving a chuckle from the two other guys.

"Prepare him." A voice that Dustin had never heard before announced behind him. That didn't sound good.

-

"It's been so long." Kim shrieked in happiness as she wrapped her arms around Rocky then, hesitant for only a second, doing the same to Tommy.

"i know, how've you been?" Rocky asked as he shut the door to Tommy's house.

"I've been doing really well. Busy, but really well." Kim replied to him as she set down her suitcase that carried her clothes and other items. They didn't have much time to catch up before a knocking was at the door, telling them that Billy was there now.

They knew that Aisha wouldn't be getting there until later that night which was fine.

"Why did you need us Tommy?" Billy asked, always being the one wanting to get down to the point.

"Hey Dr. O, we just stopped by to..." Kira began as she and Ethan walked inside the house, not needing to knock.

"Billy! The first blue ranger! Dude, I'm a blue ranger too! This is so cool! You're the smartest power ranger ever known! I just can't believe..." Ethan was cut off by Kira slapping him in the chest.

"Breathe." Kira told him as she looked at the two newest arrivals in Tommy's home.

Billy had a slight blush forming on his cheeks, not used to the celebrity type meeting. He wondered how the kid knew. Then again, he was wearing blue of course. Tommy must have kept tabs on them all. It was Tommy after all.

Tommy had told Kim and Billy all about the Dino Rangers and how he had grasped the power unknowingly so. It spiked Billy's interest that Tommy was still a ranger; still protecting Earth.

"Ethan and Kira, I'd like you guys to meet Billy and Kimberly." They made their introductions, all taking a seat to be a part of the conversation. Kira had noted not only the fact that Billy wore blue, but that Kim wore pink, and Rocky wore red. She wondered if she'd be wearing yellow for the rest of her life. She didn't mind though; the color definitely suited her.

Tommy had waited for Ethan to get over the fact that he was in the room with two original power rangers before he began to talk. "I want to tell you but I think it's best to wait for Aisha to get here."

"Yeah, I agree, but, it's still going to be at least two hours before I'm going to pick her up from the airport, can we know a little?" Kim said, stunning the group.

"You're picking her up?" Tommy asked curiously.

Kim nodded. "I talked to her after you called me and we made plans to come. She said she'd probably need a way to get to your house after the plane so I offered to go get her." Kim had rented a car while Billy had taken a taxi to get to Tommy's.

"Oh." Was the simple reply.

"Anyways, you've brought us here for a reason right?" Billy asked trying to get back to the topic on hand.

Tommy nodded, looking over at Rocky, giving him the go ahead. "To sum it all up?" Rocky said, looking at the other two.

They gave him slight annoyed looks, just wanting to get past this banter.

"Well, Zedd, Rita, and Divatox are back. Maligore's pit is on their ship. Jason and Adam might be evil if not dead. Zedd's got one of the Dino Thunder Rangers and the only two Thunder Academy Ninja Rangers. We've got a war starting and we need to help our friends." Rocky finished.

It was silent for a very long time before anyone wanted to say anything. Kim was looking in shock, the same scared look Jason had had when seeing Divatox mirrored on her face. She knew what it was like to be in that woman's clutches. The sound of Maligore, that dreaded pit. She couldn't see that thing again. No.

"This can't be. They can't be back." Billy said, obviously answering for both he and Kim. It was them who had haunted them in dreams for years to come after being a ranger.

Kira and Ethan didn't like the amount of worry portrayed on the other rangers. They were scared for Conner's safety. What would they have to tell Conner's parents when they realize he's missing? Oh great. Then again, evil Conner was walking around so it probably seemed normal, somewhat.

Without warning, Kim stood up, causing a few of the group members to jump in surprise. "Sorry. I can't believe the time went by so fast. I've got to go if I want to be in time to get Aisha from the airport." She said, grabbing her keys and purse.

"Can I go with you?" Kira asked suddenly. Kim studied the young girl's face before nodding, figuring she probably wanted to get some air to take all this in.

-

"This is a great misfortune." Sensei said as the rangers told Sensei what had happened to Dustin.

Shane slammed his fist into the wall, cringing on the inside at the pain. "We should have been faster."

"It's not your fault. It was my hope that they would not attack so soon. Splitting up truly was a bad idea." Sensei frowned, looking down at the table, more in thought that sadness.

"Can they get in here? Are we safe?" Tori asked Cam and Sensei as she reached out a comforting hand to Shane.

"No, that's one thing they won't be able to do. Even though Blake and Hunter know where to find us, they can't get in because I was able to place a strong force field around Ninja Ops. Dustin, unfortunately was out of it's reach." Cam informed the. It was comforting to know they couldn't get in but it was also dangerous. What if they got surrounded?

Ever since the last attack on their school they had upgraded the security. It was the first time anyone besides a student or sensei at the academy was able to get in. Though, Lothor had been a student so maybe that was why? They weren't sure.

"While you were gone I spoke to Haley once more. She and Tommy had decided that coming here would be best. They're going to bring a few items from Tommy's and then they along with the Dino Thunder Rangers and a few others will join us." Sensei informed the three who were finally settling down a little.

Shane was still fuming but he was calming down, slightly, cradling his hand.

"Who else is coming with them?" Cam asked curiously.

"The Ninjetti Rangers."

-

Well, I hope this was alright! Maybe not my most favorite chapter but, it's all good! The part with Conner is at the time when Jason, Rocky, and Adam were in the chamber, Conner making those noises is what they had heard hence the distraction.

Hope it makes sense!! Please R&R, I love it!


	5. Brought Together

Real quick, I wanted to answer a few questions you guys have.

First, I'm not going to write Trent, because I just don't know much about that character. Let's just pretend he wasn't there? Lol. That's as good as it gets with that! Second, I personally am not a slash writer and if it ever appears to sound even a little bit like slash, it's not intentional. Their bonds are friendship only. Obviously, there's love between Hunter and Blake which is strictly brotherly!

I don't care for the title so if you've got any other sweet, ingenious names, let me know!

Also, if you looked at any of my other stories, my favorite character(s) is always in some sort of trouble! I love it! Ha. Thanks guys! Continue the R&R, it helps me going!

Hell Is Back

Chapter 5 Brought Together /

"Now that your last companion has been collected, you are a whole." Zedd said to the six figures in front of him. They were standing side by side, arms behind their backs in a soldier stance. The color of the clothes went Black, Red, Red, Crimson, Navy, and Yellow. Their faces shown no emotion. The only change in the appearance were the blood red eyes that equally matched the other. One did stand out, possibly a little more than the rest.

"What do you make of the Crimson Ranger? He is a little different." Divatox asked to Rita as they stood side by side, examining each of the rangers .

"I see it as well, but I think I know why." Rita replied to her, talking in a hushed, quick pace. Divatox's eyes grew slightly bigger as if just realizing an epiphany.

"You've got a point there." The woman laughed. The laugh pure insane, showing how truly cold she was.

"You all were chosen based on special strengths you each possess. Whether it be strength, intuitiveness, or special abilities, you all are a group of one. No one man will lead. You all shall follow each other. You were destined to become my Venom Rangers." Zedd laughed, signaling with one of his hands a minion to come up to him.

The minion who came to Zedd's side held a box in his arms. "Well, what are you waiting for? Give them their destiny!" Zedd ordered at the slowness of the idiot minion. "I really need to get new followers." He murmured watching the minion walk forward.

He approached Adam first who looked at him suspiciously. Looking down into the box, a smirk played on his features, recognizing the instruments as morphers. Without having to think about it, he reached in, grabbing the black one.

The minion went down the row, first skipping the two red rangers who stared in anger as it approached the other eager rangers. They took their respected colored morphers, holding them in their hands.

After finishing, he went back to Zedd, handing him the box. "As you know, there are two red Venom Rangers. You must let the morpher choose you. Step forward." Conner and Jason did as they were told, holding their hands out, palms up.

Less than a second later, the morphers sat in the owner's respective hand. They both looked down at them before stepping back into line.

"Adam you have the Venom Ranger power of the Funnel Web Spider. Conner, the power of the Inland Taipan. Jason, the Bothrops Asper, Hunter the Chironex, Blake the Blue Ringed Octopus, and Dustin, the Death Stalker Scorpion." He finished, as he walked down the line to inform each Venom Ranger of their powers.

"They are all powerful, all poisonous. All deadly. Once morphed, your weapon that has been given to you holds that poison of said creature. It's fascinating. Call upon your powers." Zedd ordered instantly.

The rangers clasped the morphers to their wrists. If they were normal, they would have felt the tingling sensation hit their wrists and go throughout their bodies but it wasn't the case for now.

"Venom Rangers Power Up!" They all called in unison, holding their wrists out that contained the morpher.

"Power of the Spider!"

"Power of the Taipan!"

"Power of the Asper!"

"Power of the Chironex!"

"Power of the Octopus!"

"Power of the Scorpion!"

The ranger uniforms were all similar, minus the color code difference. The uniforms were sleek in design but very light for the quickest of movement. Their uniforms were made from a metal not found on earth, enabling minimal puncture to their bodies.

Besides their colors, which were still depleted with a black presence in each, their helmets gave the most difference. Depending on the animal is what represented their helmet. The animal wasn't designed on the helmet exactly but one look at the ranger would tell you what power they had.

Then again, the weapons were mostly different too. Adam was presented with a black widow assassin sword. Jason with twin cobra ninja swords, Conner a double black dragon stick sword, Blake a tai chi sword, and Dustin a scorpion ninja sword. Hunter was the only one without a sword, being given a staff instead. The staff was as tall as he was. It was all black with crimson designs running along it.

"You give them swords and I get a stick?" Hunter asked flatly, clearly annoyed.

"My dear Hunter, that is no ordinary stick." Zedd informed him, scowling for the rude interruption. Hunter looked at him curiously before moving the staff in his hands. He felt a sensation on his hands from the grip on it and swung it.

Instantly the minion who had been holding the box was standing immobilized by a chain that had bolted out of the staff, wrapping itself around him. Hunter grinned though it was hid behind his helmet. He already knew what to do. He concentrated then let the sting, or the shock go over the minion. The chain released itself, letting the minion fall to the ground. It whimpered before it gave a shiver and never moved again.

Zedd didn't have to do anything as two new little minions ran over, picked up the dead one, taking it out of the room.

"Demorph."

Doing as they were told, the cold smirks were clearly seen by everyone who was in the room.

"You must morph only when you are instructed or there will be dire consequences." Zedd ordered them. "Rita." He said.

She walked over, a laugh of hers wanting to escape from her lips but she kept it in. "Put these on." She said as she presented the males with necklaces.

The necklaces were made of a basic chain with an amulet on each. The amulet was that of the Venom animal. They grabbed theirs and put them on. As soon as they had done so, they all fell to their knees for excruciating pain flew to their heads. "What are you doing witch?!" Jason yelled as he clutched his head much like the others were. Rita's hidden laughter echoed throughout the ship, Divatox sharing the moment.

As soon as the pain had come, it was gone. They slowly stood up, anger flashing in their eyes. They wondered if they could just zap her like the minion had been.

"You see. You disobey, you must meet the consequences."

The men glared but didn't dare disobey their master.

"You're dismissed for now."

-

Arriving in Blue Bay Harbor couldn't make the former rangers and the Dino Thunder team any more nervous than they already were. They already came to terms with the fact that they'd have to fight but, they weren't ready for it.

The Dino Thunder Rangers could jump at the word but as for Billy, Rocky, Aisha, and Kim, that was another story. They had left their power ranger days a long time ago.

Kim and Kira had filled Aisha in on what had been told to her and Billy. She was just about as eager to fight as Kim. As soon as Aisha had gotten there, Tommy informed them that they should get some sleep because they had an early flight the next morning.

The flight was very awkward for no one had spoken the entire way there. Sure, they were split up mostly among the plane but the pairs that sat didn't speak. The tension in the small plane was nerve-racking to say the least.

At the airport, Kira and Tori almost collided as they ran towards each other to greet. Both seemed like they were on the verge of tears. Cam had rented a car so that way between he and Tori, could transport all of the rangers to Ninja Ops.

Tori took Kim, Kira, Aisha, and Haley while Cam drove Tommy, Ethan, Rocky, and Billy. It was a little funny watching the people unfamiliar with the waterfall think about walking towards it. Obviously, they all assumed they'd sink right into the water. Normally, any passerby would have but, they had made sure their friends would be able to go through safely.

While all of this was happening, Shane and Sensei worked on the force field around the school. They needed to make it stronger, that way their guests would have quarters to sleep in. Ninja Ops wasn't too big so they needed more room. The figured the school would be their best bet. It was good having the students resume their normal lives so that way they'd be out of the way and hopefully be off the radar from the enemy.

Hearing the arrivals, Shane and Sensei welcomed them at the doors to the academy.

"Hello friends. I am pleased to welcome you to the Wind Ninja Academy, my school. I only wish that it was under different circumstances."

There was a brief introduction of everyone, that way they'd at least get the names and power ranger identities down. They could become more personal later.

Everyone got inside, Shane directing them in the way of the rooms they could put their stuff in Kim and Aisha shared one room while Kira and Haley took another. Rocky and Billy took another room across from the girls as Tommy and Ethan occupied the other.

Once everyone was settled, they met down in the Ninja Ops quarters to finally get to talking. Even though it was obvious who was missing amongst the groups, the conversation between Haley and Sensei were told over again through everyone.

"Hunter and Blake were just so cold to us. They even hurt Dustin..." Tori frowned as she went on with what went down with their group.

"That's how Conner was. He pushed Ethan hard." Kira replied before Ethan could tell it for himself. He just nodded glumly.

"Good thing he's okaa...wait, where's Dustin?" Ethan asked, suddenly looking around. The question had briefly lingered in Tommy, Haley, and Kira's minds but they didn't think it would have had anything to do with this.

"They... Hunter and Blake. They took him before we got a chance to save him." Shane said, clenching his jaw from wanting to scream out in anger.

"Oh no." Was said more than once throughout the room. An uneasy silence fell through the group for a moment.

"We all have friends that are missing. Great friends. We have to work together to help get them back." Sensei told the group.

Tommy nodded, obviously agreeing. "There's a little bit of a problem though." He explained to them about what had happened with Maligore all those years ago and that the pit and Divatox were around. Tori felt tears falling down her face as she cried silently. Rocky shared his story of the two boys and what he witnessed.

Not being able to hold it in, a sob escaped Tori's lips as she hid her face in Kira's shoulder. Her boyfriend, her Blake was so helpless and was put into the fire. No. And Hunter. What if it happens to Dustin too? Dustin was so innocent.

Kira hadn't realized the tears that fell down her cheeks as she stroked Tori's arm in a reassuring manner.

Kim hated the fact that she was slightly angry at the fact that no one seemed to care about Jason and Adam. She knew that it wasn't their faults since they weren't the friends of the guys. They hadn't even met them. It pained her to think that they wouldn't see Adam and Jason the way they had. Their smiles, their vibrant personalities.

"Sensei, what can we do? We don't have our powers anymore." Billy asked Sensei, trying to direct the conversation elsewhere for the girls.

He held of his morpher, feeling slightly foolish as if it would give them the answer. Maybe it would just start up again?

"Ninjetti rangers. All the rangers in the universe and beyond were given these powers because it was inside of them all along. Being guided by someone trusted within the knowledge of those powers were able to let you dip into the power." Sensei explained to them. Kim, Aisha, and Rocky had followed Billy's suit, pulling out their morphers. "You've always had the power. It may feel gone, but it is there."

"How do we get it back?" Aisha asked, a little eager to know that they would be able to play a role in saving their friends.

"You must connect with the Ninjetti animal spirit. They will guide you back to the power in your soul." Sensei informed them. "Go now, while there is a calm before the storm."

The four Ninjetti rangers got up shakily, unsure as to what to do. They never really meditated. Sensei told them to just relax and that it would come to them so they believed that.

"Aren't you coming?" Kim asked Tommy, noticing he wasn't getting up. He looked up at her, showing her his wrist. "Dino Thunder this time." He grinned slightly, being the only ranger to be several colors. He also had been a different type of ranger too.

"I should have figured." She gave him a smile back as she left the room. She wondered when he'd be a pink ranger.

-

"What's going on?" He thought. That was all he could do anyways.

He couldn't move for he was tied to a wall. He wrists hung high above him, never giving. His wrists were tied so high above his head that he had to prop up on his toes a little to give them some slack.

Seeing wasn't an option since it was pitch black. There was nothing around him that he could see. He wasn't even sure if there was a wall behind him, it's not like he could see it. What kept his wrists above his head? Maybe he made it up that it was some type of a rope. He couldn't tell or feel for that matter what kind of material it could be.

The worst part of all was that he had no idea where he was or what had happened. . He tried to call out but the eerie echo into nothingness kept him to his thoughts.

He bit back a scream as pain suddenly exploded into his mind. What was going on?! Not being able to hold it in anymore, he let the scream out. Was that really what he sounded like? Hearing the echo come back scared him. It sounded like someone in agony.

Minutes later or maybe hours? Maybe days? Who knew, he could sense someone coming towards him. Maybe finally he could get some questions answered.

"Who are you? Where am I? Why am I here?" He asked immediately, faintly being able to see a figure ahead of him.

A laugh hit him like a ton of bricks. Wait. He wasn't laughing. Why was his voice laughing at him? He figured he must be going crazy.

"You're always here. This is your mind after all dumb ass." The figure approached him. He gasped, seeing who was facing him. What would you think if you were staring at yourself?

"This is a trick."

"No, no trick. We've simply, switched places. I've always been apart of you, I just got out again." Then he realized what was going on, only slightly.

"_I love you too." Were the last words he heard. _

_His heart pounding in his chest was too loud if anything more was said. The pain in his feet, the legs, stomach, chest, face, arms, consuming him._

"Is it clear now? Let me help." The doppelganger pushed his right thumb into the other's left shoulder, causing him to scream.

"Yes Hunter. It all happened. You're trapped in you...our mind. This time you're staying put." He laughed, his dark crimson eyes shining in the darkness.

"No, I don't believe...believe you." Hunter said, tugging from the restraints, angry that it was to no avail.

"Don't worry, now that everything is in order, you won't be in the dark anymore." With that, evil Hunter disappeared.

Afraid to open his eyes, Hunter did. He felt like he was in his normal body. He went to talk to Blake, realizing quickly that nothing moved. He tried to talk, move an arm, do anything but nothing happened.

A scream was ushered but heard by no one. Evil Hunter let a smirk play on his lips to himself.

-

Whew another chapter! This one took so long because I couldn't decide what I wanted to do with them. I finally picked a name for their group and then had to go on a task as to why that was their name. Obviously, venomous and poisonous are two different things but Venom Rangers sounds cooler that Poison Rangers.

If you're not sure, a Taipan and Bothrops Asper are snakes. Chironex is a cooler name for Box Jellyfish. I wish I had a sweeter name for Octopus but, oh well!

The weapon choices were difficult as well. I went to some random website about weapons and found ones that seemed sort of cool. It was like fantasyweapons? Something along those lines.

I hope everything is piecing together well for everyone!

Last, did the Hunter part make sense? I hope so. I admit, the idea was kind of stirred up because I remember watching Animorphs and one was like trapped in his mind or whatever. So I did the same. Whew. Please R&R, you know I love it!

Just for curious readers, what did Rita notice about the Crimson Ranger? What theory may she have about him? Dun.Dun.Dun.


	6. Power Trips

Boo, only three reviews? Come on lovelies, I know you guys can do better than that! Um, I don't have much to say this time so I'll get on with the story!

P.S. Whispering Ranger is correct! Hunter, Dustin, & Blake are my favorites! Haha.

Hell Is Back

Chapter 6 Power Trips /

"Why can't we just go down now and destroy the rangers?" Blake barked, hitting the wall nearest him.

They had been dismissed to their quarters until further notice. The new assembled team decided to stick together, going into a room that resembled that of a small gym.

There was a few bench press weight sets, box squat area, punching bags, and even a tread mill. It seemed comical to image Zedd working on these things but they let the thought go. Maybe it was made for them?

"We have to wait for our orders." Jason told him, sitting down on one of the benches in the room.

"Why do we have to listen to him anyways? We could take him out like it was nothing." Hunter fumed, agreeing with Blake.

It was obvious who stood with who out of the venom rangers. Hunter, Blake, and Dustin vs. Jason and Adam. Conner, well, he was sort of torn. He had no fellow ranger from his earth time to have a connection with. He was closer to the Bradley's and Dustin but then felt a connection with Jason as well. It was also that connection that set a small tension in the room. They were both red rangers. Red rangers were always leaders. The alphas.

"Because he is the one who has given us these abilities. For now, we play by the rules. For now." Adam told them as he stood with his back leaning against a wall. The smirk on his face was evident that he knew they could take out Zedd but that he would be with Jason.

"We stay for now." Jason told them firmly. This spiked Conner's nerves slightly.

"Who made you boss?" Conner spoke up, it being the first time he had really said anything after being in the fire.

Blake and Adam both looked over curiously at Conner while Hunter looked quite amused.

"It's obvious I was chosen to be the leader." Jason answered as if it was the dumbest thing he had ever been asked.

Though the others in the group all lusted for power to be the leader, they knew their places. They had never been the leaders of their teams before and preferred it that way. If it came to a dog eat dog situation, then they'd be ready. For now, they stayed where they were.

"I'm sorry, what was that? I'm pretty sure there had never been a 'leader' picked. We're one, not individuals." Conner pressed back.

"Who cares what Zedd says. I'm the leader of the Venom Rangers. I am the red ranger after all." Jason said with a smug look on his face.

Conner walked over closer to Jason. Jason seeing the advance, stood up as well to square up to Conner. "Last time I checked, I was wearing red too."

"What do you know everyone? He's not blind after all." Jason returned, staring in the identical crimson eyes.

"No I'm not, remember, I'm not the old man here." Conner told him.

Before he knew it, he was flat on his back. Jason had grabbed his arm all the while moving one of his legs behind Conner's ankles and pushing him hard. He placed his foot at Conner's neck.

"I may be old, but I still could kill you without hesitation." Jason threatened.

Conner glared up at him, not saying a word, his hands on Jason's leg, trying to make him budge. He was stronger with the fire power, but, so was Jason.

After a few more seconds which seemed like minutes, Dustin spoke up. "Don't kill him yet, he'll be useful in the destruction of those damn power rangers." He said calmly, not even looking over at the squabbling men.

Jason looked over at Dustin before deciding he was right, giving Conner one last shove before walking back over to sit down.

"That's why he's the leader." Adam laughed, watching as Conner stood back up, obviously angry.

Conner decided he'd retaliate another time. He'd show them that he was good enough to be the leader.

-

Later on that evening since the Ninjetti and Dino Thunder rangers came to Blue Bay Harbor, they all met back up with the Wind Rangers.

It took some long to try and reconnect with their powers. It didn't surprise Sensei that Aisha was the first one to come back. She was already a very big animal person and her connecting with the spirit was easy. Almost natural.

The second person to come back which had been an hour later was Rocky. They assumed that maybe his eagerness to help his friends since he had been forced to escape without them enabled him to connect.

Coming in third was Kim who came around a half an hour later. She was more open minded to realize she needed to connect with a spirit to help save her friends. Her strong passion helped steer her in the right direction.

Last but not least was Billy. He came around an hour after Kim. It was hard for him to connect because logic outweighed his determination to meet his spirit animal. After running through all the reasons why it wouldn't work, he had to make himself realize that he had been a power ranger who morphs and giant robotic animals formed together to defeat evil. Why wouldn't connecting with a spirit be anymore odd?

They regrouped inside the temple in one of the training rooms. It was just a big room with the ground covered with mats. There were beams at one end of practicing posture and balance. A few weapons were on the far wall for practice in using them.

The Ninjetti rangers held their morphers, looking slight worried that they wouldn't work. Maybe they were so hopeful to connect with their spirit animals that they had all made them up.

"You are now ready, call upon your Ninjetti forms." Sensei told them as he, Tori, Shane, Cam, Tommy, Kira, and Ethan stood by, anxious to see what would happen. Naturally, Ethan was the most excited.

"Well, it's now or never." Rocky muttered as he took the step to lead them in the transformation. They didn't need their morphers for this and if they could get their ninja uniforms on, then there would be luck that they could do this.

"Ninja Ranger Power Now!" He called.

"The Ape!"

"The Crane!"

"The Wolf!"

"The Bear!"

In an instant, there were four people standing side by side, wearing their respected ninjetti colored uniforms. Red, Blue, Pink, and Yellow. They looked at each other, happy at this progress.

They removed their masks, revealing their faces.

"This is crazy." Kim said, looking down at her clothes. They all wore head bands as well, showing their animal.

"That…was…awesome!" Ethan whooped as he clapped for them.

"Well done rangers. Now for the biggest task of all." Sensei told them, short living their success.

Rocky looked at each of his teammates, making sure they were all ready. One by one, they nodded to him for the go ahead.

"It's Morphin' Time!" The words hung in the air. It wasn't just any words. It was the first words to ever be ushered to form the first rangers in their world.

"Red Ranger Power!"

"Pink Ranger Power!"

"Blue Ranger Power!"

"Yellow Ranger Power!"

They had done it. They had successfully transformed into their ninjetti powers. The happiness and ecstasy that filled the room was beaming from floor to ceiling. Everyone felt the tension dissolve into nothing. The four former rangers indeed were going to be able to help out. To help save their friends. To save the world.

After taking turns sparring lightly and practicing little moves, the four rangers demorphed back into their normal clothes.

"This is unbelievable!" Billy said as they recomposed theirselves.

"Sensei, you were right. We've always had the power with us." Aisha said happily. She and Rocky seemed the only two extremely pleased with the whole ordeal.

Billy looked as if there was no way possible this was happening while Kimberly looked slightly distant. It didn't go unnoticed.

"I think I'm going to go get some air. If you'll excuse me…" Kim trailed off, looking anxiously over at the door.

"Take your time." Sensei told her as he stepped out of the way for her to leave.

She silently thanked him as she rushed herself out of the room.

"Is she okay?" Ethan asked as he and the rest of the room watched her leave.

"Yeah, she's just a bit overwhelmed I believe." Sensei answered him sullenly.

Tommy felt uneasy letting her just leave alone. "I think I should go…" He began but got cut off.

"Go!" Several members of the group told him. He gave them a small smile as he turned on his heel to meet up with him.

"Those two will never be over." Billy decided. He had thought a few moments over the ordeal, deciding that it was happening and that he was going to help fight.

-

Kim stood against one of the columns in the front of the school, looking out into the distance. She wondered how real this area was. It couldn't be since you had to go through a waterfall to get to it. Maybe it was some type of an allusion? She wasn't sure.

So many emotions rushed in her mind. Her fear for her friends who were in danger. Her anxiety at wondering if they were alive. Anxiety for having to fight once more. Her painful memories of being evil from the fire. The overwhelmed feeling of taking care of the world again. Her heart break from the past with Tommy. The dim flutter that came when she looked at him now in the present so many years later. Her guilt for not wanting to be apart of any of this.

While all these thoughts ran through her mind, she hadn't heard Tommy come up behind her which spooked her. She grabbed the hand that touched her shoulder, flipping the person over onto their back.

"Woah! Kim, It's just me." He said, a little surprised at her move.

"Oh no. Tommy, I'm so sorry. You startled me." She said, reaching down to give him a hand up.

"At least you've still got it." He chuckled lightly, taking her hand to stand.

She smiled lightly at his comment before going back to her thoughts. The bad feelings definitely outweighed the good.

"Is everything alright?" Tommy asked her, seeing it in her eyes there was something wrong.

Sighing, she wondered what she should tell him. She knew she couldn't get away with 'nothing' as her answer. "It's just so…hard to be back doing this." She answered him.

"I know what you mean." He said, taking a seat on the step, Kim shortly following his lead.

"No you don't Tommy. I mean, for fifteen years, you never stopped saving the world." She knew that he had brought all the Red Rangers together from the different ranger teams to stop evil. He had brought them together, not someone else. He was the one who was a teacher who suddenly got a hold of the dino gems and taught the new age of rangers what to do. He became a ranger himself. Again.

Tommy was speechless for a moment. She was right in every way. He had never really been able to give up being a ranger. He felt like this was his reason for living; to save mankind. "I tried to live a normal life, I really did. I just… couldn't relax knowing that there could be danger out there."

She nodded in agreement. "It was hard at first to let go, but, I just wanted to be normal, so I made myself forget." She felt almost ashamed to admit to it.

"It was a good thing you did Kim. You were strong enough to leave, I wasn't." He replied to her. "I may never be."

At that, Kim looked over at him curiously. Was there a double meaning in his words? Maybe she was just over thinking them. Maybe a part of her wanted him to have a double meaning in his words. Quickly, she shot her head to face forward, blushing slightly at the fact that while she mulled over her thoughts, she had been staring.

He smiled lightly, putting an arm around her shoulders loosely. "I know it's hard to be back but it's for Jace and Adam. For them." He told her honestly.

"And for the kids." She frowned, placing her head on his shoulder.

"Yeah, for the kids." He frowned thinking of how much pain the Bradley's, Dustin, and Conner must be in. Those poor boys. They all had faced evils but this one was far worse than anything they had ever encountered.

"We'll get them back. I promise." He said, tilting his head on hers. They sat there in silence, comforting each other. Words weren't needed.

After several minutes, Tommy spoke up. "Kim, I…I'm sorry I didn't leave with you."

Kim sat up, looking over at Tommy. "What?"

"When we were young. When you left. I wish I wouldn't have stayed back." Tommy frowned, wondering where this was coming from. He hadn't had the slightest intention of bringing this up.

"You have nothing to be sorry for. You did the right thing in protecting the Earth. That was a responsibility you of all people couldn't just walk away from." Kim had felt like she betrayed all of her friends when she left but it was her decision. She couldn't constantly fight people. She wanted a life. She wanted to stop being so secretive.

"But it costed us." Tommy said.

"Tommy…" Kim began.

"Don't Kim. We need to focus on getting the guys back now." He said, standing up. She looked up at him, wondering why he had brought up that just to push it aside.

"Ready to go back in?" He asked, holding down his hand to help her up. She nodded her head, taking his hand and hoisting herself up. They walked back in to join their friends.

-

"When shall we strike?" Goldar asked Zedd as the two looked down at the Earth. Their crystal screen showed Blue Bay Harbor. "There's been no sign of the rangers. They're scared." He laughed. Zedd didn't.

"No, they're not hiding. They're simply hidden. The yellow ranger told us of their location and something is blocking it. It's as if the area doesn't exist." Zedd explained to Goldar who frowned.

"Do you think he's lying?"

"No. After being changed, he'd have no reason to hold any information back. He knows the consequences." Zedd replied, the thought already surpassed him after the interrogation. Dustin, as was his name, told them of the waterfall. He didn't know why they couldn't get past the shields.

"So what do we do?" Goldar asked, glaring at the smiling faces on what appeared to be a beach.

"We bring them out."

-

Well, there's another chapter for you! I really want more reviews my loves! Only three, no bueno! I hope you liked the chapter. It wasn't exciting I know, mainly just a filler chapter!

I hope I got the Ninjetti powers right with how to call upon them. I think I did! Lol, well, anyways, tell me what you think! Until then!


	7. And The Thunder Rolls

Well, I got five reviews, so I guess that's better, but I'd love for you all to review. Even if it's like just update! I'm fine with that. I need you guys to help push me to finish this! I mean, it's not even started yet! I know you guys want to!

As of now, I don't even know where this story is going. The chapters write their selves, I'm just pushing the keys! I know it'll be awesome though!

On to the next chapter!

Hell Is Back

Chapter 7 And The Thunder Rolls

"How did you do that?!" Ethan exclaimed as he and Billy had their backs turned to the rest of the group. They were hovering over Ethan's laptop. Billy had obviously performed some type of a hack that Ethan could only imagine doing.

"It's really pretty simple... all you have to do is match the coordinates with the variable that is adjacent to the fourth power and then condenses to the property of..." Billy droned on.

"Are they even speaking English?" Shane asked as he and Tori sat at the table, watching the small television aimlessly. The news was on talking about the weather. "...the storm may only be because of the changing of the seasons..." It seemed that a storm was rolling in.

"I don't think so." Tori replied, glancing over at the two. Tori grinned lightly, nudging Shane to look over as well. It seemed that Cam had heard their conversation and joined them.

It had been two days since the disappearance of their friends and the anxiety was starting to hit all the rangers. Why hadn't anything happened? Were their friends even alive? They only knew that Hunter, Conner, and Blake were most likely alive but working for the enemy. Not a good sign.

-

Haley hadn't been around them as much for she had been trying intensely to get a lock onto Zedd's ship. They knew around the area of outer space it was in but couldn't find it. Their shields were more advanced than Sensei's was. They doubted Zedd could get through theirs but was positive he knew they couldn't get to them either.

There was a strong energy coming from a very specific point but it would be too dangerous to try and transport the rangers there because it could be a trick, sending them straight into the emptiness of space.

"How's it looking?" A voice asked Haley. Without having to turn around, she recognized the voice as Tommy's. She did look when she realized he wasn't alone. Rocky was with him.

"Not so good. He was prepared in the case that we'd try and find him. There's such a huge block. Every time I even feel like I might be getting close, the mainframe gets fried and shuts down." She sighed, rubbing her temples with her index fingers.

"It's okay Haley, just take your time." Rocky tried to assure her though the words weren't as honest as he spoke them. The anxiety had been with him the entire time and it was definitely heard.

"We all know for the sake of the boys that time may not be on their sides." Haley told him, knowing he probably would rather hear the truth. She knew that she couldn't just take her time with this. Lives were on the line.

"We know you can do this, Haley." Tommy told her, placing a firm hand on her shoulder.

-

"It's hard to just sit around, hoping we'll be able to save them." Kira frowned as she, Kim, and Aisha sat outside of a smoothie joint. They figured getting some air would be helpful.

"We've all been there before but you just have to hope that it'll be okay in the end." Aisha told her as she placed a comforting hand on Kira's forearm.

"I know it's just, we've never been through something as scary as this. We've fought plenty of monsters, sure, but we've never fought each other." Kira told them.

Aisha looked uncomfortably over at Kim to see what her reaction was. Kim had looked down at the ground for a moment.

"I'm sorry..." Kira began, looking at Kim as well. "I didn't mean to say that..." She tried to think of more to say.

"No, don't be sorry. It wasn't anyone's faults except Divatox's." Kim frowned, recalling being chained alongside Jason as they were lowered into the pit.

"What was it like..." Kira trailed off, unsure of how comfortable Kim would be with talking about it.

"It... It wasn't easy." She began, surprising herself that she was going to talk about it. "I don't remember all of it. I mainly remember what it felt like. The pain. The anger. The need for power. To destroy. I remember seeing my friends but looking at them as if they had betrayed me but I couldn't recall how but that didn't matter." She said, her eyes beginning to water ever so slightly. "Seeing Tommy's face. It was more familiar to me. I can remember wanting to know why I was fighting him but I didn't know why. Then all of a sudden...I felt this surge of energy flow through me and I was able to think straight again. I saw that Tommy needed help to help Jason and I went to them." Kim finished, a single tear trailing down her cheek which she quickly rubbed away.

"How did you come back? Was it because of your love for Tommy and your friends?" Kira asked, hating that she was pushing it but desperate for a way to get Conner back.

"Well... as much as I wish that was the case... I just remember Larigo. I think he and his wife were able to get rid of the evil inside me." She wouldn't tell them of the nightmares she had gotten for months after that. She remembered being trapped in her mind, her evil self taunting her.

Kira didn't have to ask who Larigo was. Tommy had told them all about the circumstances of Divatox. If that wasn't enough, his video diary would inform them of the fight against her.

"What are we going to do about the guys? Larigo isn't here.." Aisha wondered out loud. It was true though. As much as Kim and Jason both had wanted to be on the right side, the magic of Larigo had changed them back.

"I don't know. I mean, I remember after Tommy and I helped Jason, he was sort of in a daze. I wondered if maybe he was going to be okay but Larigo had helped him find his way in the end." Kim thought, remembering Jason's lost look in his eyes.

"I know we'll find a way to get them back." Aisha said, wanting once more to comfort the teen. "Kira?" She asked, noticing the girl must have spaced out.

"Kira, honey, are you okay?" Kim asked, moving her hand in front of Kira's face.

Kira had a look of shock and horror in her expression. She couldn't seem to form words. Instead, she pointed. Kim and Aisha looked curiously at each other before turning in their chairs to see what Kira was staring at.

Across the rode from them were three guys. Two wearing red and one in black. They were leaning against the brick wall of the building there. Smirks placed on all of their faces. The one that flanked the right side waved at Kira.

"Conner." Kira choked, standing up. Aisha and Kim followed suit.

"Adam, Jason?" Kim said their names slowly. She looked questionably at the other two girls.

"What are they doing? Are they trying to get us to fight?" Aisha asked, seeing that the area they were in was quite packed even though there was a storm evident to come.

"I don't know. We shouldn't make a move until they do." Kim said, almost making herself the leader of their little trio. In a second, the guys went from across the street to barely three feet apart from the girls, causing them to take a step back. No human eye would have noticed the move.

"What's wrong Kimmy? You look as if you've seen a ghost." The man standing in the front said. He being the lead of the trio of guys.

"Jason, what've they done to you." Kim frowned, seeing the crimson eyes in place of his soft yet serious brown.

"They're shown me the error of my ways. We've been traitors for far too long." Jason said to her as he kept a evil grin on his face. A light sound of thunder rumbled from across the sky. Conner smirked.

"They must finally be here."

"They are." Adam laughed.

-

"We've got a problem." Cam called to the group, moving his chair out of the way for the people in the room to take a look. On his screen shown Hunter, Blake, and Dustin strolling down the beach front. Screams of the people running away was only one of the things wrong with the picture.

It seemed that the storm wasn't just a nature one. It was a Thunder Ninja's doing. Coming off of Hunter and Blake were obvious vibrations of lightning. They were like walking sparks. The group frowned with a few gasps as Hunter and Blake would raise their arms, letting lightning hit them as they redirected it to smash into the buildings and mountains near by.

Dustin wasn't being helpful either. It looked like he was causing a shift in the side of a mountain. It looked as if he would start a rock slide. "Look!" Tori almost screamed pointing below the mountain.

Looking at the screen shown two children huddled together, obviously frightened. They weren't planning on moving and it looked like the mountain side would give at any moment.

"We've got to go!" Shane said as he Tori and Cam stood to leave.

"We'll go with." Tommy informed them.

"No, let us go. It's our friends, please." Tori asked of him. Tommy thought for a moment, it hard to decide. He couldn't let them just go alone. After a moment, he figured he would do the same if it was just his friends.

"Okay but if it gets too rough, we're coming." Tommy told them. They didn't need to say anything else as they ran out of Ninja Ops.

"Looks like we've got some more trouble." Haley announced. Instead of calling on Ethan and Tommy, Kira had hit an emergency button on her morpher. It would pick up her location by satellite so they could see what was wrong.

They saw the girls facing the guys, the tension excruciating. No one dared to move for fear of setting off the others. The girls were strong but the guys were stronger. "We need to help them." Ethan said right away, fearing for Kira.

"Alright. Let's go. Haley, let us know if Tori, Shane, and Cam need us." Tommy said, the four leaving the room before she could reply.

-

The storm was getting worse. Not only was the lighting and thunder getting more hideous but the rain had begun to fall and the ocean didn't look calm anymore. It thrashed around, beating against the rocky edges angrily.

Tori, Shane, and Cam were there in no time. Tori and Cam stopped their Ninja Streak in front of the venom trio as Shane wized past them. He knew that the rock was giving out. He had to get to the kids. He ran quickly, putting both arms tightly around the crying kids, jetting out of the way of the rocks.

The scene happened within a span of only a couple of seconds but it seemed like it was in slow motion. Shane ran in and as soon as he had left the spot, the rocks crashed into the earth below. Shane took the kids into a nearby store. "Go find a badged man to find your parents." He told them as he took off. He had seen a cop and could only hope they would do as told. They were at least a little safer now.

He ran back, standing between Tori and Shane. "What are you guys doing?"

"We're just having some fun. Lighten up a little bit." Dustin laughed as he watched Blake toy with the lightning before sending it off toward a vacant boat.

"This isn't fun. You're hurting people." Tori said to them, her focus on Blake.

"Well, duh. " Blake laughed. Closing the gap between the group, Hunter and Blake stopped playing with the lightning, letting the storm take its course the way it was supposed to.

"You three would be smart to just surrender. It's less painful." Hunter said to them, his words thick with a threat.

"We're not giving up. You're our friends. Don't you remember?" Cam asked them. They all focused on him for a moment as if he had just said the dumbest thing ever.

"Friends? We don't have friends." Blake replied coldly. He eyed Hunter and Dustin. "I don't even like them." He frowned.

"That makes two of us." Dustin huffed.

"Shut up will you two. We're here for business." Hunter said to the two of them. It wasn't a question, it was a statement.

"What business?" Shane was getting the feeling of deja vu suddenly.

"That's for us to know." Hunter said as he began to walk forward, being stopped by a shove from Shane. Shane felt the sting of the heat on his palm. "You really, shouldn't have done that."

"Oh and why's that?" Shane asked, stepping closer to Hunter.

"You don't want to know." Dustin said from behind Hunter.

"Try me." Shane said looking around Hunter.

Hunter smirked, leaning back. In a half a second, Shane went from standing to being shoved at least twenty feet from where he was standing. Hunter was still in his stance, his right palm flat out from where he had hit Shane square in the chest.

Tori and Cam gasped, running over to see if Shane was okay. "Are you okay?" Tori asked immediately.

"I'm fine." Shane said, his temper starting to flare. He stood up with the help of Cam. "So you want a fight, then you've come to the right place." They all transformed into their ninja attire to fight. So did the venoms.

Shane and Hunter ran towards each other, a crackling sound coming through as their forearms hit the others, blocking the other blow.

As the match up was decided, Cam took on Dustin while Tori was left with Blake. It was as if this was planned to crush her heart even more. Then again, she knew that if anyone could get through Blake, she'd be the one. Hunter would be first in line but obviously that wasn't happening.

As Cam went to hit Dustin, he had disappeared. Cam frowned knowing that he was underground somewhere. Where he was going to pop up was another question. Cam spun around, expecting him to be behind him. Instead, Dustin came back from where he was standing, kicking Cam in the back. He stumbled forward, turning back around quickly to blow the punch that came for his face.

Tori was doing worse. She was having a hard time fighting Blake. As much as she knew he wanted to destroy her, she couldn't do it back. Blake kept knocking her off her feet. He was holding back though, she knew he was. He could have ended her in minutes.

Standing up again, she got into a defensive stance. "Blake, look at me, don't you remember anything?" She asked. She, for a moment, thought that she had said the right thing. He looked like he was trying hard to remember something.

He frowned before twisting his face into a smirk. "I remember you're a traitor." He said, swinging at her, this time she was able to block.

"I'm not a traitor and neither are you. You've been tricked. You and Hunter were captured and turned evil. This isn't you Blake." Tori said to him, determined to get back to him .

"I don't believe you!" He shouted, bending down to round house her to knock her down. She saw it coming, jumping out of the way as she did a kick as well, kicking him in the face. He landed on his back before flipping up to fight again.

Hunter and Shane were going at it. It didn't seem like either was getting the upper hand, minus Hunter anyways. He was able to every now and then get in a blow. Shane, only able to block most of them Shane and Hunter had fought before, both being pretty evenly matched. This extra boost had made Hunter above Shane slightly, angering him. Shane wanted nothing more but to beat him now, ignoring the fact that it was his friend.

"You're weak." Hunter laughed, dodging a pathetic attempt at a punch to his face.

"I'm weak? You're the weak one. This is the fourth time you've been tricked into fighting the good guys." Shane retorted. The anger was evident in Hunter's face.

Hunter quickened his pace, laughing as Shane had been shocked at this. The groups began to fight one another until a scream of anguish and pain was sent throughout the beach.

Four heads turned to see what had happened. One head looking at the last who was no longer conscious.

-

As the storm came near, the people around them had dilapidated into only a few more people who were waiting for rides so they could get home. Anyone who came near the six people could feel the air of tension, deciding it best to avoid them all together.

Soon after, the group became not six but ten as the four guys joined the group.

"This is a private party." Jason said as Tommy, Rocky, Billy, and Ethan joined the side of the girls.

"Who invited you?" Tommy asked back. Conner couldn't help but let a chuckle come out.

"Who's side are you on anyways?" Jason snapped, turning to look at Conner for a moment.

"Since when does the leader get owned in quirky remarks?" Conner asked. He, somewhat, regretted it when he received a backhand to the face.

"He's right you know." Ethan joined in, hoping Conner would maybe be normal.

"You're not apart of this." Conner shot back. There went the hope, especially seeing the soulless ness in his eyes.

As if some unheard 'GO!' whistle was blown, fighting had begun. Kim and Aisha focused on Adam, Kira and Ethan on Conner, and Tommy versus Jason.

Adam seemed to easily be able to fight off the girls. They would try and attack at the same time causing him to just shove them into each other or cause them to hit each other. Sorrys were said constantly which made Adam grin. It was too easy. They just weren't realizing their strategy sucked.

Conner seemed to have made it a comical game of 'Catch me if you can' with Kira and Ethan. They would come up to him to strike and he would use his speed ability to get out of the way. Seeing their confused face, he'd run back up to them and hit them. He kept on with it, laughing all the more.

"Come on Tommy, you know you could never beat me. What makes you think you can now?" Jason asked as he went to deliver a punch at Tommy, who blocked it.

"Jace, you know I'm tired of you and I fighting each other." He said, deciding to ignore the words Jason were saying.

"Then join us." Jason said simply as they continued to block the other's hits.

"You know I would never do that. You need to realize that you've been put under a spell. It's happened to you before, don't you remember?" Tommy asked, trying to get through to him.

"A spell? No. I've merely been brought to the right side."

"The right side isn't evil."

"You're the one who's truly in the dark Tommy. This side is the winning side."

"It's not if it's at the cost of so many lives. And your friends."

Before Tommy, Kim, Aisha, Kira, or Ethan could even blink, their three former friends had disappeared into thin air.

"What just happened?" They asked, looking obviously confused.

-

Somewhat of a cliffhanger I suppose? Haha. I really REALLY hope to see some more reviews this time. I know you guys can do it. Please ?

I'm starting to not be sure what's going to happen so it's getting a little difficult to write these but I'm not giving up by any means! This story had lots of potential and going down as probably my greatest fan fic so it will be finished!

Anyone have any sweet guesses as to what happened? Woot!


	8. Miscalculations

Well, technically I got six reviews, so that made me happy! I'm sorry I didn't post a new chapter yesterday, it's just that a tragedy has occurred in my neighborhood and it's been hard on everyone. Long story short, my friends little brother, 16, was shot in the head by someone for throwing eggs. He died instantly. It's just a big shock. I'm going to continue updating, it's just a little distracting.

Anyways, please stay loyal and keep the reviews on coming!!

Hell Is Back

Chapter 8 Miscalculations

"Well, what the hell is wrong with him?"

"I'm...I'm not sure."

"Figure it out!" Hunter bellowed, obviously annoyed with this 'doctor' that Zedd had on the ship.

"I'm trying Sir Hunter." The doctor said, shrinking away from the angry ranger.

"Hunter. calm down. Yelling isn't going to get anything done."

"Yeah well it might speed up the process."

"No, just leave the doctor to do his work."

"Did you see what happened Blake?"

"No, I was paying as much attention to him as you were." The Navy ranger frowned, clearly annoyed.

_It had happened so fast. They were all fighting their opponent when an agonized scream was ushered. Everyone seemed to forget that they were fighting. Hunter and Shane had a firm grasp of each other's arms as they turned their heads to look. Blake had Tori on the ground once more as they both turned to see what had happened._

_Confusion sprung out of everyone, especially Cam. One minute he had been blocking blows from Dustin, the next, Dustin was screaming, collapsing to his knees. He clutched his head with both of his hands, squeezing his eyes shut as tight as possible. Cam had wanted to reach out to him but a firm grab and pull of his shoulders had him sprawled out to the ground several feet away. Blake and Hunter had come to his sides._

_"What's wrong?" Hunter demanded instantly, his crimson eyes flaring, wanting to know what was going on. _

_"I...Aaaahhhh! What's ha..happen..pening?!" Dustin screamed, using everything he had to get the words out. He was now in a semi fetal position, his knees up to his chest, his arms grasping his head as hard as he could. What they hadn't noticed was that one of his hands was tugging at the necklace in a feeble attempt to remove it._

_Then before anything else could have happened, they disappeared. They were back on the ship, Dustin on the ground whimpering while Blake and Hunter stood protectively over him. _

Dustin now lay on a 'bed' in the 'infirmary' in the ship. He hadn't made a sound since they had placed him in the room, though a sedative had been placed in him as well. He looked slightly pale. There was no telling if he was sick and had a temperature because their body heat was much higher than the normal.

"There's nothing you two can do here. Leave and I will inform you with his condition when I find out myself." The doctor ushered, not looking up at the two as he stood over Dustin.

Hunter glared but left the room with his brother. He was annoyed slightly with Dustin because he was finally starting to get the upper hand on Shane.

"I only needed about another minute, and he would have been destroyed!" He exclaimed, slamming his fist into a door as they walked down the corridor.

"Yeah, well, you'll get your chance next time." Blake told him as they halted in the hallway as three confused faces stared at them.

"What happened?" Jason demanded.

Blake told them about Dustin, they not knowing what had happened to him. They also informed them that they weren't to go back to the infirmary and that the doctor had no idea what was wrong with him right now.

"Did the green ranger do something to him?" Conner asked curiously.

They both shrugged. "There was no way. We were killing them out there." Blake answered. Hunter was still fuming, deciding to stay quiet.

"That's how it was for us, then out of no where, we got zapped back here." Adam spoke up this time, leaning against the wall, folding his arms across his chest.

"There you all are." A voice, it being recognized as Goldar, approached.

"Why were we all brought back?" Jason demanded, standing in front of the rest of the group.

"A precaution. It appears the rangers have some tricks up their sleeves." Goldar informed them. "Go to your quarters. We'll call you in to meet in a few hours." He said, turning back around, going back from where ever he came.

With that said, they did as instructed.

-

"What the..?" Shane asked, he and Tori both looking at Cam for an answer.

"I didn't even touch him." Cam frowned, taking their arms for help to stand up. "They're so strong." He frowned deeper.

"I know. And their skin, they're on fire." Tori bit her lip, knowing that it was fire that made them so hot.

"Rangers, please report back to Ninja Ops." The familiar voice of Cyber Cam said through their morphers. They nodded to each other as they began to Ninja Streak back.

-

At Ninja Ops, Tori, Shane, and Cam waited for the rest of the rangers to come back. They wanted to know why the were needed back so soon but it was decided to wait for everyone to be there.

Rocky, Tommy, Billy, Aisha, Kim, Kira, and Ethan got back no longer than five minutes since the Ninja rangers had gotten back. They looked as confused as the rest of the rangers were.

Tori told them of what had happened with Dustin. "Did any of them freak before they disappeared?"

"No, they just were there one minute and BAM! gone." Ethan said as he told the story of what had gone on with them.

"Rangers, it is good to see you all are alright." Sensei said as he walked into the room.

"Is everything okay Sensei?" Shane asked as he approached the others. "Cyber Cam sounded urgent." He glanced over at the robot, he in turn grinning and giving him a thumbs up.

"There is good news in contrast with the bad we've recently befallen on." Sensei said, looking around at all the rangers.

"Do you know what happened to Dustin?"

"I am not completely certain but I may have a good interpretation of the circumstance." He paused. Everyone just stared at him, waiting for his explanation. "It appears that Dustin had fully connected with his spirit animal before he was attacked. I could sense his spirit animal seeking out help unconsciously as soon as he came to the Earth. Dustin being with his Earth power strengthened his animal spirit's ability to call out. The spirit had gotten to the hawk and dolphin for help in saving Dustin. It was that pain of trying to be released from the fire that caused Dustin to be in pain." He finished, letting it sink in.

It was obvious that Tori, Shane, and Cam caught on quickly to what he was saying but the others were a little more confused.

"If that happened for Dustin, how come it didn't happen with Adam?" Aisha asked curiously.

"I believe Adam may not be aware of his spirit animal still being with him as you all now know. His Ninjetti Frog may still be dormant. Since he was unable to reclaim that power, it is forgotten." Sensei answered her as clearly as he could.

"Why didn't it happen to Hunter or Blake?" Tori asked.

"I think it is because they as well were not told of their spirit animals being with them still. They haven't connected with them either. Only Dustin has." Sensei paused, closing his eyes for a moment. "I think the closer Dustin is to the two of you, the better chances we have of getting him back."

"Why didn't the fire get out of him? What kept it there long enough for them to get zapped out of there?" Shane asked, feeling bad that they were giving Sensei the fifth degree pretty much with the endless questions.

"That is one question, I am not sure of. Something strong is keeping it there." Sensei frowned, knowing that he had no answer for that question.

-

Back in the ship, Zedd had been summoned by the doctor.

"This better be good." Zedd threatened, looking over Dustin as he entered the room.

"I believe it is. I was able to probe through his mind. It appears that he is the Earth Ninja." The doctor told him.

If Zedd had much of an expression-able face, he'd be looking at the doctor as if he was a complete moron. "Do you think I'm not aware of that?"

"I know, but there's more. He was able to connect with the Earth power which I believe tapped into his animal spirit." The doc then had to go into a spiel about what the animal spirits did and how they helped the rangers out.

"So you think the spirit is able to get rid of the fire? Impossible." The last word wasn't an answer, it was almost fascinating sounding to him.

" I'm not sure. You see, it only got stronger when he was closer to his former wind ninja friends. They have spirits too. So does the thunder rangers, Conner, Jason, and Adam." He said, feeling awkward at saying them by their first names. He didn't even know them.

"Do the others know of these spirits?"

"I don't think so. They were captured before being reunited with their powers. Most had to connect with their spirit animals to get their powers back."

"Then we will not let them know of these spirits for they could guide them back to the wrong side." Zedd frowned, looking over at Dustin. "Will he be up any time soon?"

"Yes, he's off of Earth and his readings are getting better as we speak. He should be up in less two hours."

"Excellent. Those charms sure hold up to their capabilities." Zedd said as began to leave the room. "Send him to my chambers when he's coherent." Saying that, Zedd left the room.

-

Dustin never knew being stuck in your own mind would be painful. His body ached and burned continuously. The worst part was that it never let up. His body never became immune to the pain. It always hurt.

He felt like the worst pain was watching himself hurt his friends. He could hear those evil, deadly thoughts in his mind flowing all around him.

He was sitting on a floor, his arms twisted back behind his back in a tight bind against a pole. His ankles were also tied so tightly he was sure that the blood flow had been stopped.

He sat there, panting as his body took hits and moved so fast, faster than he's ever done before. Why was he the one hurting? This evil being in him was the one in the lead. He tried several times to get free, but it was seemed that the ropes only got tighter.

It felt like he'd sat there for eternity before loud steps were coming closer to him. At first they were very light, fleeting but as he continued to seemingly fight Cam, the loudly and clearer the steps go.

His sight was hazy, but he couldn't help but feel relieved at the blurry figure before him. It was the lion there to help him.

"You have no idea how happy I am to see you." Dustin murmured, his head rolling to the side before he jerked it up to focus more.

"I am here to help you." The lion informed him, coming closer.

"How do I stop this?"

"You must ask for the help of the other spirits as I am trying." The lion said to him, approaching him now, sitting down so Dustin could lean on his lean figure for support. Dustin could feel the proper warmth from the lion, the strength being sent to him to call for his friends to help.

"Please guys, help me. I need you now." As the words were thought, Dustin pulled against his binds, feeling them actually loosen a little. "I think it's working." He said, hope forming all around him.

Before he could ask for more help, he screamed along with his body. He felt almost back in it, like he was taking charge. He had gotten his arms free! There was no time to celebrate for he clutched his head tightly. The pain was worse than what he had been going through in his mind.

"The necklace. Remove it." The lion said in the back of Dustin's mind. He tried to take it off but it was too strong of a cord and he was too weak. His head burned and throbbed like someone was hitting him with a hammer or something.

As soon as he got a firm hold on the necklace, he felt his arms being pulled back behind his back, the ropes tightening around his wrists worse than before. He had failed. He looked up as his evil self grinned. "Nice trick." He smirked, looking around, trying to figure out how he managed to get free.

"What did you do?" He asked, grabbing Dustin by his chin, making him look at his evil version.

"Bite me." Dustin said, his head collapsing as the evil Dustin also fell into an awkward slumber.

-

Alright, to clear up things. Dustin's mind is obviously from when he was fighting. So kinda going back into time, a little. Also, I'm going with the assumption, for now, that the Lion spirit is able to be unknown but the evil Dustin. I know that's confusing because they share the same mind so the evil part should be able to sense the lion, but, just go with it! Thanks! haha.

Umm, also, it was originally intended to be Blake who had screamed but, it almost felt like that was the obvious pick so this train of thought with it being Dustin came to mind.

The necklaces suck! So oh no! This is another sort of filler chapter, I'll try and post a new chapter up in a few hours, I need a nap!

& for the popular demand, I will not be doing a Kim/Tommy coupling because a lot of people are sick of that. I wasn't sure if I was going to do it anyways since this fic isn't really centered towards any couples.

& ew for this being my SHORTEST chapter! Sorry!

Hope you enjoyed, until later!


	9. Venom Rangers

Thank you to everyone with the support for my friend and his family. The candlelight ceremony was this evening and the air of sadness was just so devastating. I just hope that this sick bastard comes forward or gets caught.

I would wait for maybe a few more reviews but I had said that I'd update another chapter since I skipped yesterday! Please continue the reviews, they always put a smile on my face!

Hell Is Back

Chapter 9 Venom Rangers

"Master, you requested I see you?" Dustin said, bending down on one knee before Lord Zedd.

"Yes, yes. How are you holding up?"

"I'm fine now. I regret the incident."

"Do you know why that happened?"

Dustin frowned. "No, I don't. Maybe the samurai did something to me." He answered honestly.

"Very well. From now on you are to not attack the samurai or the other wind ninjas. You and Adam shall switch groups when you separate. If you are to do battle together, you stay away from them. Do I make myself clear?"

Dustin nodded his head, standing. "Yes sir." Dustin was then told to leave the room.

He stormed off down a corridor, angry. What had happened to him back on Earth? Why couldn't he remember it? He remembered fighting the samurai and then feeling Dustin begin to get free. How was that possible? He was too weak to get loose. There was no way. Why was he not to do battle with the wind ninjas? He was highly confused of course.

Finding his room, he saw that it wasn't vacant. He frowned seeing Blake sitting in the room waiting for him.

"What happened down there?" Blake asked automatically.

Dustin shrugged. "Hell if I know. Why do you care?" He asked more in an annoyed manner than curious one.

Blake was taken aback by it slightly. "We're teammates. We can't afford you going down every time we go fight." Blake retorted.

"We've only fought them once. It's not going to happen again." Dustin said, side stepping Blake to take a seat on his bed.

"It better not or Hunter will probably kill you." Blake muttered as he walked out of the room.

"I'd like to see him try." Dustin called after his former friend. He laid back on his bed, laying his head on his arms. Why was he a former friend? He thought for a minute, realizing he didn't remember much at all, just that he had known Blake in the past.

He realized also that he didn't care if he had known him or not. He only wanted to see destruction befall the rangers and the Earth. He lusted for the power to take a life. No, to take lives. The samurai was going to pay for whatever he had done to him. Closing his eyes, he let his sub-consciousness find Dustin.

He walked over to the detained ranger, slapping him across the face. "How did you get out? What did the samurai do to me?"

Dustin looked up at his evil self with a smirk, much to the evil half's surprise. He knew he couldn't even think a fleeting thought about the lion or his evil half may find him. Then he knew he'd have no chance. "They're smarter than you is all. You're weak."

The evil Dustin returned the smirk, his more cynical than Dustin's. "Am I now? You're the one who's being controlled. I could bite off your tongue and only you would feel a thing." He replied.

Dustin's eyes grew big at that statement. What if he did do that? He'd never be able to talk again. Not to mention, dude, that would hurt.

"Oh and that's not all I could do my dear other half. There's much suffering this body could go through before I'm done with it."

"You're not my half, you've become an unwanted host. You won't be here forever."

"That's what you think." Evil Dustin disappeared, leaving Dustin sitting there to wonder. What would he do to his body?

-

The next day, everyone was huddled with infinite offensive, defensive, structured plans. Looking at the positives and the negatives of what they could do.

"So we just need to find a way to get Dustin alone."

"Without him getting zapped back to the ship."

"Along with him not being able to kick our ass."

"Or use his Earth Power ability."

Several scenarios were talked along the rangers, Sensei, and Haley as they figured this was their only shot for now. They'd have to take one evil friend down at a time. Figuring out how to get Dustin back didn't seem so hard, except trying to figure out how to actually get the evil out. Plus the other problems listed.

The biggest problem was that they never knew when their friends would come back. Another problem was that they didn't become rangers so they risked the rest of the rangers to show their identities. So far, they had been lucky. Two kids had seen Shane's face, but the possibility of their story of a lightning fast guy to save them seemed very made up.

"We must wait until they decide to strike again." Sensei came to the conclusion that was in everyone's minds. The group split up for now.

Tommy remained with Sensei. "Sensei, if we are able to separate Dustin, keep him from going under the ground, and be able to hold a good defense against him, how are we going to stop them from zapping him back from the ship?"

Sensei thought long for a moment. "The only way to ensure Dustin to stay on this Earth is to bring him here. From there we must be certain we are not risking losing our defenses."

Tommy agreed. This was the only place Zedd couldn't get to. "This is the worst nightmare that has ever come to life." Tommy frowned.

Sensei's eyebrows rose. "Your dreams come to life?"

"Well, sort of. I've dreaded fighting my friends and it's happened several times. I've feared of having to be a ranger again because of enemies and I have. Now, having to fight my biggest enemy, again, it's just hard. Not to mention having my friends be evil." Tommy wasn't even sure where all this gushing was coming from.

Sensei placed a hand on Tommy's shoulder. "I know it is hard. You must believe that you and the rangers can bring back everyone safely."

Tommy looked up at Sensei, nodding. He knew that he had to be strong to save them.

-

"Are you okay Kim?" Aisha asked as she walked outside. It seemed that out on the steps was Kim's favorite place to disappear to.

She looked over at her friend, nodding. "Yeah. It's beautiful out there, isn't it?" Kim said, pointing out towards the horizon.

Aisha took a seat beside Kim, nodding. "Yeah, it is."

The sat there in silence, just staring out at the sun. It was just above sun rise, it burning out over the trees, giving them life.

"What's wrong Kim? I've known you long enough to know when you're upset."

Kim sighed, running her fingers through her hair. She wasn't sure how to form the words. "It's just...hard, I miss him."

Aisha nodded. "I miss him too. Did you know that we were going to try and be involved? I know it was going to be hard because of our schedules, but, we wanted to try." She smiled at the memory.

Kim smiled too. "Yeah. I didn't have the heart to tell Tommy about Jason and I. He told me how he was sorry about the past. I couldn't just tell him now. I didn't want to hurt him since that's his best friend and all."

The truth behind Jason and Kim. It was true that when they were kidnapped and went through all that trauma, they had bonded. They were able to confide in each other and give support. No one really knew what it was like to fight your friends with no will power to stop. They had been hanging out before the incident but afterwards they saw each other at least three times a week.

Kim had been in another state when Tommy had found her, but, she was planning on moving to be near Jason. They hadn't initiated dating, but, it was pretty much at that point. They were taking things slow and it was fine for them.

"You don't think Jason ever told him?"

Kim shook her head. "I seriously doubt he told him. How could he?"

Aisha nodded once more. "Jason will be okay. He's strong."

"So is Adam. They'll both make it out okay."

-

Kira, Tori, Shane, Ethan, and Cam had gone out to the training area sanction to get some air. Shane and Cam remained standing while the other three took a seat in a small circle on the ground.

Kira and Tori helped comfort each other since the battle the day before had hurt them. It was more than just something physical. They were able to get over that. It was the pain in their hearts. Much like Aisha and Kim, their boyfriends were also trapped. Well, Kira and Conner never actually dated but, the chemistry was so obvious it was sickening, to Ethan anyways.

"Tori, didn't you say that you thought you got through to him though?" Cam asked as he decided to squat down to be a little more at eye level.

Tori thought for a moment before looking up at him. "Well, I thought I did but it was only for maybe more than a second, barely. It was as if he was trying to remember what I was saying. Then all of a sudden, he stopped. His face was full of anger again." She said, recalling his facial expressions in her mind. She bit on her bottom lip.

Shane looked at Cam, a little annoyed. "Why are you smiling?" He didn't mean to sound so rude but, really, this wasn't a time to smile.

"It's just that, this means that maybe after Dustin, Blake can be the next one to focus on .Maybe his evil isn't as strong as the rest. Maybe his heart and ability to remember are too strong for any evil." He explained to them, causing Tori to smile a little as well. Smiling is contagious so everyone slowly felt their lips curling up, but only a little.

"Maybe you're right. I'm worried about Hunter though. He's always been the one to do something before thinking. He's got a lot of suppressed anger inside of him. He may be a problem." Shane frowned, knowing that he would be one of the toughest opponents.

They all agreed. "Yeah and Jason. He's one tough guy. I wouldn't want to run into him in a dark alley." Ethan said, not meaning to do it but involuntarily being the comic relief of the group even if no one was laughing. It was true.

"Same with Conner. He's always been more to himself. He may have trouble coming back too." Kira said sadly, feeling Tori grab her hand for support.

"We'll get them back, we've got to."

Ethan wondered if the reason it would be so difficult to get Conner, Jason, and Hunter back was because their colors. Red. Crimson. Fire. They all joined together.

-

"This might be our only chance you know?" Rocky said to Billy as the two looked over Billy's laptop.

"He would be helpful yes, but, is it even possible? How would we find him?" Billy asked, he always being the more reasonable thinker.

"Yeah, but, what do we have to lose?" Rocky frowned. "Besides our lives and our friends and the Earth's ultimate doom?" He added on.

Billy looked at the screen. "If he's even alive. You know what had happened. The sacrifice that was made."

Rocky nodded. "I know. There's only one person who could try and contact him. We've got to go."

Before Billy was able to reply, Tommy and Sensei came into the room. Sensei looked glumly at the two friends. Tommy couldn't help but look a little confused.

He closed his eyes in concentration. "If you are to go, you must go now. Don't hesitate. The location you are going to be entering has not be inhabited in a long time. You must be careful. You must be swift in your return." He said to them.

"Where are they going?" Tommy asked curiously. Rocky and Billy both looked at Sensei to see if they should answer.

At this time, Haley entered the room, looking ready to leave. He looked over at her curiously.

"Haley, you must join Rocky and Billy on their journey. You will benefit it well." Sensei told her. She looked over at Rocky and Billy who looked confused only for a moment before deciding Sensei was right. She could help.

"This is something they must do alone. It is best to not know for now. You have much more to worry about." Tommy was reluctant but took the words to heart. He nodded.

"Where ever you three are headed, be careful." Rocky and Billy nodded. Billy put his laptop in it's bag and the two left the room swiftly. Haley, with one last look at Tommy, nodded as well, following the two.

"We must hope their journey is successful."

-

"We wondered when you would show your faces again." Shane called as he stood along side of Tori, Cam, Kira, Ethan, Tommy, Kim, and Aisha.

It had only been an hour since Rocky, Billy, and Haley had left since the alarm went off, informing them of the fight that was waiting for them.

"It looks like you're missing a couple rangers. You guys drop like flies." Jason smirked, his eyes glaring at Tommy. Tommy returned the stare.

"Jason, this is enough. We're all friends here." Tommy said, wishing that it would actually help out.

Jason stood in the front of the group, being flanked on either side by Adam, Blake, and Hunter on his left, Dustin and Conner on his right.

"Fighting is pointless." Kim said, wanting to shrink away as Jason's cold stare hit Kim's eyes. As if he read her mind, his mouth twisted up in almost a smile.

"You didn't tell him Kimmy? Poor lover boy." He laughed, the others joining in. Tommy saw Jason's eyes flash to his and back to Kim.

"Your mind games won't work. Now let's stop toying around. What do you guys want?" Tommy snapped, deciding that this wasn't the time for whatever Jason was saying.

"You all to surrender." Conner spoke up, taking his stand next to Jason, much to his anger. He let it go, for now.

"Like that's going to happen." Ethan laughed, surprising himself at the ability to do that.

The good guys started to cautiously get into a fighting stance. At their move, their evil friends laughed.

"Did we miss something?" Tori asked sarcastically.

"You think we've come to just fight? We've come to destroy you." The words stung as Blake was the one who said them. Jason nodded to the group.

"Venom Rangers Power Up!"

""Power of the Spider!"

"Power of the Taipan!"

"Power of the Asper!"

"Power of the Chironex!"

"Power of the Octopus!"

"Power of the Scorpion!"

Gasps were ushered as were shocked faces throughout the group. "Venom Rangers?" Was asked by more than one person.

"I've never heard of them." Tommy admitted, this surprising Shane and Ethan who both looked at him.

"What?" They asked in unison.

"I...Venom Rangers are not from this world."

"Guys, be careful, we just got a wave of energy emitting from those baddies. Their name is no joke. Each ranger contains that venom from those animals. Don't get hit by the weapons." Cyber Cams voice boomed from Tori, Shane, and Cam's morphers.

"Did you all hear that? Avoid blows from the weapons, they could be fatal."

"No kidding." Ethan frowned.

"Rangers are you ready?" Tommy asked the entire group.

"Ninja Storm, Ranger Form, HA!"

"Power of Air!"

"Power of Water!"

"Samurai Storm, Ranger Form!"

"Dino Thunder Power Up!"

"Tricera!"

"Ptera!"

"Brachio!

"Ninja Ranger Power Now!"

"The Crane!"

"The Bear!"

It seemed like it took forever for all the rangers to morph, but really, it was only a matter of seconds. Everyone was now morphed, waiting for the enemy to strike first.

"What are we waiting for?! Let's do this!" Hunter bellowed, running forward with his 'stick', aiming for Shane of course.

-

Cliffhanger! I think. It's only a little one anyways. I hope it's going along okay and that I got the ranger powers right. The only ones I'm iffy about is the Dino Thunders but I think I got them right! If not, feel free to correct me!

What do you think Billy, Rocky, and Haley have been set out to do? Who's 'he', 'them'? Any guesses? Dun. Dun. Dun!

Reviews are lovely! Until tomorrow!


	10. The Plan

ERROR ALERT! I had gone back to answer a question for a reader when I noticed I did my history wrong. I had said that Jason wasn't a ninjetti which is correct. The wrong part is my assumption that he wouldn't have an animal spirit. Duh, I'm wrong. He's the tyrannosaurus ranger and that is an animal! I went back and just deleted that part. Sorry!

SEVEN reviews! Wooo! I'm thankful for it guys. Keep it up please! Any of you shy people out there, just leave me anything. Doesn't matter what. The good or the bad, I can take it!

On to the story!

Hell Is Back

Chapter 10 The Plan

Shane was already expecting Hunter to attack him, being able to easily block him with his sword. The force of the attack was rough, sending them both back away from the group. The attack on Shane seemed to totally peeve Jason but he decided to take care of it later.

The fighting commenced, the groups charging at one another. Tori and Blake ran at each other, going off to the far left, closer to the shore. Cam began to go towards Dustin but was stopped abruptly by Adam. The two fought near Shane and Hunter. Conner took on Kira and Ethan by the docks. Kim and Aisha had to be defensive against Dustin as he attacked them surprisingly. This left Jason and Tommy in the center.

"Looks like I'm here to kick your ass once more." Jason laughed, pulling out his two swords. Tommy took out his own weapon for defense.

"Jason, you're not like this. You're being manipulated." Tommy tried to reason, knowing it was probably not going to work.

Jason glared though it wasn't seen through the mask as he charged Tommy. He tried to stab Tommy in the shoulder but it was blocked. Tommy then had to use his forearm to block the second sword that came at him. This was going to be a lot harder than he thought.

-

Tori and Blake sparred, Tori trying her best to be quick enough to block Blake's blows. He wasn't just knocking her off her feet anymore, he was going in for the kill. She seemed to begin to slowly get out of breath. Blake saw his opportunity and struck.

Luckily, Tori had thought ahead, she used her water power to smash a huge water ball of energy to knock him back several feet. She took in a shaky breath, regaining her composure as he got up as well. He was obviously angry as he stormed back over to her. "Cheap shot ranger." He fumed, continuing to attack her once more.

-

Cam and Adam were moving so fast that the naked eye probably wouldn't have noticed them. Their moves were lightning fast, only seen if you were actually paying attention to them. They ran all along the beach, only the clanking of metal on metal sounding.

At a point, they had stopped, staring at each other, waiting for the other to strike. "Why did you stop me from fighting Dustin?" Cam asked, more curious than anything.

"Maybe I wanted a taste of defeating the green samurai." Adam answered him coldly.

"You and I both know that's not the truth."

"The yellow ranger is too weak. I, on the other hand, can handle anything you throw at me." In truth, Adam was just following orders. He didn't know why Zedd had commanded him to fight Cam, but he didn't care all the same. Destroying the young, less experienced ranger would be fine with him.

"You are aware that I didn't even scratch Dustin. Something else did that to him." Adam wondered if it was a trick but ignored him. He'd tell the others later on.

-

Kim and Aisha ran up towards the boardwalk, slowly trying to get Dustin further and further away from the battle. They had to try and get him closer to Ninja Ops in hope that they could save him, eventually.

How they were doing right now, however, it was going to take a lot more to get him to leave.

"I've never had the ladies running from me. What a shame." He smirked, running towards Kim to attack. She dodged his sword as he then aimed for Aisha who did the same. They tried to attack him separately, but it wasn't working. They tried attacking him at the same time, and he was able to block. He was a lot quicker than they expected.

Kim and Aisha were both pushed away from him, landing near each other. "Are you okay?" Kim asked as they began to stand up.

"Yeah, we've got to keep moving. We're not too far." Aisha whispered, rolling out of the way as Dustin came down with his sword.

The two girls backed up more, bringing Dustin closer to their trap.

-

Conner was literally, running circles around Kira and Ethan. Much like Kim and Aisha, Kira and Ethan would go to attack him and he would either use his speed ability to move around them or block their attacks easily.

Kira used her scream to jumble Conner once, causing him to cover his ears. This gave Ethan the advantage, knocking Conner to the ground. He could almost hear Jason laughing at him.

He frowned, shoving himself back up, slashing away at Kira. He smirked, moving away from them, demorphing. "Let's play. No need for silly costumes." He told them.

Kira and Ethan looked at each other, wondering what he was getting at. Conner then looked at Kira, his eyes passionate, but burning with the crimson. His voice full of heavy sarcasm. "Kira, come on baby. You wouldn't hurt this body would you? Scratch it all up? No matter, he's my prisoner, you'll only be hurting him." He laughed, closing his eyes as he put his arms out to the sides.

Kira bit her lip, powering down. "Kira, what if it's a trick?" Ethan asked, looking at her confused.

She shook her head, desperate not to cry. "He's right though. If we're morphed and attack him, we could seriously hurt Conner." Ethan, knowing better, decided that maybe she was right. He didn't want to demorph by no reason but did anyways.

"You guys sure are suckers." He laughed. Kira looked at him, her eyes growing bigger. In his hand was one of his swords. Before she could do anything, Conner had backhanded her away from them. A scream broke out from her lips, above Conner's laughing.

It appeared to her, that Ethan had been stabbed.

-

"Really ladies, this is getting a little ridiculous." Dustin sighed as he chased after them. He was done toying. Ninja streaking, he ran in front of the two girls, surprising them.

"Where are we going? Huh?" He asked, stepping forward, causing them to take a few steps back.

They were deep in the forest, Dustin sure it looked very familiar, just unsure as to why. Not too far from them was a waterfall, at least, that's what it sounded like.

"This has been fun and all but, it's time for me to head back." Dustin frowned, seeing as they weren't going to move out of his way.

"Aren't you going to fight us, you're not afraid are you?" Kim asked, surprising herself at the challenge she placed upon him.

Dustin laughed, it full of pure cynicism. "You're joking, right? You actually want to fight. I thought we were caught up in some cat and mouse ploy?" He continued to laugh but cut it short, shaking his head. That pain was coming back. What the hell was it?

Ignoring it, he charged at Kim, kicking her in the chest, sending her back into a tree. He then rounded on Aisha. She was backing up lightly, knowing she was getting closer to the waterfall. She had to get him through it.

As he came near her, she began to do a series of back flips, using it as a tactic to get away from his advances, as well as get closer to the water. Hearing it behind her, she smiled. Stopping, she took a fighting stance once more as Dustin started to attempt a kick. The attempt was successful, knocking her onto her back.

"There's only room for one yellow ranger." Dustin said coldly. Aisha grimaced as she waited for the pain to sear through her, though it never coming. Opening her eyes, she saw that Kim was now standing above her. Kim smiled, helping her friend up.

"We got him through. Now we just got to restrain him." Kim sighed. Aisha shook her head.

"Sensei can take care of that."

-

"What the hell!?" Dustin fumed as he walked around the forest area. He had gone to destroy the yellow ranger onto to be shoved in the waterfall. The only thing was that not only was he not soaking wet, but he was lost. He had tried to go back the way he came, only, he didn't know where that was.

Coming to a temple like building, a smile played on his face. "Of course. The academy. The lion." He nodded his head in understanding.

"So Dustin, the lion is what helped you. They made a mistake bringing me here."

Dustin continued to walk around, coming closer to the building. He looked at the door, seeing a person standing there.

"Old man, you should probably watch yourself." He laughed, going to strike Sensei.

In mid step, Dustin fell to the ground, clutching his helmet, unable to get to his head. He knew that he'd be more vulnerable if he demorphed. They weren't going to get his host free that easily. Sensei kept his palm up, sad to have to use such mental powers on a friend.

-

"Where's Dustin?!" Blake called out to Jason.

Jason shoved Tommy away from him, taking a look around the area. Tori was holding off Blake, Conner and Kira were fighting. Cam and Adam had one not too far from them. Shane and Hunter were destroying the mountain side, pretty much. And Dustin? Where was he? Come to think of it, where were those two female rangers?

"What did you do?" Jason asked Tommy. If he could see Tommy's face, he'd see a smile.

"Looks like you guys are more gullible than we thought." Jason fumed. As if he had heard something in his mind, he backed off.

"Rangers, it's time to leave." Jason yelled, the venom rangers disappearing.

"Someone's not happy." Tommy laughed. His laugh was cut short at seeing Kira run to Ethan.

"Ethan, oh no, are you okay? Ethan?" Kira asked, assessing the situation.

The others ran over to crowd in a semi circle around the two. Why weren't they wearing their gear? What happened?

Kim had communicated with Tommy, letting them know that they had Dustin detained, for now, but that they needed to hurry and get back.

No one seemed to be able to move.

-

Jason, Hunter, Blake, Conner, and Adam were on their sides, grasping their heads as Zedd punished them.

"How could you be so stupid?! He was a very valuable ranger and you lost him! You fools!" Zedd yelled, pushing more energy into the rangers. The pain had caused them to demorph, their pain and anguish easy to see now.

"Forgive me, it's my...my fault!" Jason answered back. He was the leader and it had been his fault.

"Why do you take the blame? Your idiot rangers should have been paying just as much attention. You call yourself a team. Ha!" Zedd fumed. After another five minutes or so, he left the room, the pain releasing. Only Jason was conscious and only barely.

He glanced over at his side, seeing that Blake's ears were bleeding, both of Hunter's nostrils, the side of Adam's mouth and the same with Conner. He reached up to feel his face, feeling blood trickle from his ears as well. He had felt like he may have had a brain aneurysm or something. It was awful. He wanted to move, but couldn't. Feeling the heaviness of his eyelids, he let them close.

-

"It's been a while since I've been here." Billy said as he, Rocky, and Haley arrived at their destination.

Rocky nodded, smiling as he looked around at some of the familiar sites. "Yeah, it's been years." He too hadn't been here in a long time. Haley just smiled, looking around as she enjoyed seeing new places.

"I wish we could stick around the city but, we've got business." Billy said to them, reading their minds. It was a bittersweet sort of thing.

"I really wish we could just teleport there." Rocky frowned, looking in the direction they needed to head. They had borrowed an off road jeep that could get them to where they were needing to go.

Billy nodded. "I know what you mean, it's going to take us at least three hours to get there. Hopefully"

Haley had nodded. "I personally think I'm glad I don't have to teleport. I think it'd be very, odd." She smiled, putting her bags in the back of the jeep.

Billy sat shot gun, pulling out his laptop, looking over the coordinates of where they were going. Haley was looking over his shoulder, her hand resting on his shoulder, enabling her to get a closer look.

Before Rocky could get into the jeep, he jumped at a voice.

"Rocky Desantos?" The voice asked, coming closer. Billy and Haley had looked up this time to see who their visitor was.

Rocky turned around before wanting to laugh. "Bulk? Is that really you?"

The somewhat big guy nodded, huffing at how fast he must have been moving to get a better look. "Yeah, it's me. What in the world are you doing here?"

"Uhh.." Rocky began, looking over at Billy who just shrugged. "We're going on a road trip..." He just left it at that.

"Oh yeah, what kinda road trip?" Another voice near Billy asked.

"Skull?" Rocky then said. Wow. It had been at least ten years since the last time he had seen either of them. Their names still stuck with them. Bulk was about the same size as he had last seem him, this time sporting a pony tail. Skull still was lanky and pale, short jet black messy hair on the top of his head.

"I wish we could chat some more and catch up, but, we really do have to go." Rocky told them as he jumped into the driver side.

"You guys were always in such a hurry." Bulk muttered as Skull came beside him.

"Yeah, but, we'll get together some time." Rocky told them as he started the jeep. Bulk and Skull stood there as the trio drove off.

"Looks like Billy finally got a girl." Skull laughed, Bulk quickly joining him.

"I wonder why they're here all of a sudden?" Bulk asked. Skull just shrugged.

-

Kira had long been crying, Tommy coming to her side. She moved out of the way, Tori kneeling to her side.

Tommy looked over Ethan, looking for a wound. Finding none. He frowned, lifting Ethan by his shoulders, shaking him a little.

"Ethan?" He said lightly, placing his hand on Ethan's chest. "He's breathing."

Kira choked up a little at the good news.

"Look! There!" Cam pointed behind Ethan. He knelt down as well, reaching behind Ethan. A huge rock was sitting there.

"I think he's just knocked out. Must have hit his head on the rock." Cam assessed. Tommy smiled, letting the air out that he'd been holding. He lifted Ethan, getting him into a sitting position.

Like the cliché of any typical ranger episode, it wasn't long until Ethan began to stir. He blinked a few times, then looked up at Tommy awkwardly. Why was he holding him like this?

"Um...Dr. O, you can let go..." He said before being surprised by Kira grasping him in a huge.

"I thought he, he stabbed you!" She said as she moved to let him up.

He nodded then pointed at his chest. "Dino skin is pretty nifty."

"Guys, I hate to break this up, but we've got one angry, hostile venom ranger to deal with." Shane said as he watched the scene before him. He was sure Sensei could handle him, but not for very much longer.

-

I hope this is okay! Not too much. I'm not really creative when it comes to the fighting scenes. There's only so many kicks, punches, jabs, strikes, that can happen. Lol.

Good guess to the few of you who did about where Rocky, Billy, and Haley were going. How that part is going to be worked out...will be interesting because I'm not even sure how to explain what may or may not happen! Wish me luck!

Also, my biggest problem is how to bring the venoms back I've got about four of the rangers ideas on how to get them back but that leaves two. Each ranger, if brought back, needs it to happen in a somewhat unique way. If you have any sweet ideas, let me know! I'll contemplate and if I like it, I'll def. give you mad props for the hel!

Please review for me!


	11. A Friend In Need

Deciding that since I, yet again, skipped a day to update, I'd do a two in one. A few read the last chapter before I posted this one, so, I won't be too upset about the lack of reviews! Hope ya'll enjoyed. Here's the next chapter!

Hell Is Back -I dislike this title with a passion!

Chapter 11 A Friend In Need

"Is he okay?" Tori asked as she and the rest of the rangers returned on Sensei's request.

They came through the waterfall, seeing quite the sight in front of them.

Sensei stood, arm extended, palm up, eyes closed, deep in concentration. They would have asked what he was doing if they didn't notice the yellow figure squirming a few feet away from him on the ground.

The Yellow Venom Ranger was grabbing frantically at his helmet, trying to relieve a little bit of the pressure. The only way he could do that was to take off the helmet which only came off once demorphing. Why that was, none of them knew.

"No, he is not. This is the only way to keep him down for now." Sensei frowned, his eyes staying shut. He knew that the steps that had been approaching him were his friends.

"Are you doing that, father?" Cam asked suddenly, it almost scaring him at the amount of mental power his father truly possessed.

He nodded his head only once. "He is physically very strong. I could not hold him off waiting for you to return. This is the only way." He repeated, the sadness in his voice. He didn't like having to apply this type of pain but he had no other choice.

"What can we do?" Kira asked, herself becoming very worried about Dustin.

"You must make him remove the ranger form he is in." An unexpected laugh erupted throughout their ears, everyone turning their heads to look in the direction of the laugh. It was Dustin .Well. Evil Dustin.

Sensei, in talking amongst the rangers, hadn't been able to focus as much mental energy towards Dustin, thus giving a little. He was still obviously in pain, just not as much.

"You're going to kill poor Dustin before that happens." He snickered, pushing himself up on his knees.

Before anyone could react, he launched himself at Sensei, knocking the two over.

Shane and Cam reacted quickly, grabbing Dustin by his arms, flinging him off of Sensei.

"Father, are you alright?" Cam asked urgently. Sensei had just been knocked down, confused only slightly.

"You must save him rangers. Whatever it takes, make him demorph." He looked from Tori and Shane, they nodding.

All at once, the group began to attack Dustin. They had to pretend that it wasn't their friend, that it was the yellow venom ranger. An evil ranger from another galaxy.

-

Adam had been the first to regain consciousness, deciding to wait for the others to wake up. He frowned at the migraine that had surfaced but wasn't surprised. They had taken one nasty blow from Zedd. Not to mention they knew they could get beat.

He sat with his knees near his chest up against the nearest wall. He stared straight out over the rest of the rangers, waiting patiently for one of them to stir.

As soon as he had started to get annoyed that they were all out for much longer, he watched as Conner and Blake began to move. Finally. Blake groaned, rolling to his side. As he opened his eyes, he panicked, raising up too quickly.

He grabbed his head, shaking away the nausea. He was more worried about the unconscious blond in front of him. He grabbed Hunter, lifting him up so that way he would be leaning on his lap. Though he knew none of them really cared for each other, he felt a deeper connection with Hunter. Maybe it was that they happened to both have thunder powers? He wasn't sure. His past was a little fuzzy.

Conner chuckled to himself as he sat up. He looked over at Jason. "He calls himself the leader." He muttered, as he looked over at Adam who was glaring at him. "What?"

"He tried to free us of the torture you know." Adam said bitterly.

"Yeah, a lot good that did, huh?" Conner paused, staring at him again before standing up. "I could destroy him right now and he'd never of had a clue." He muttered. He could feel the anger channeling off Adam.

"Way to make yourself look like a leader. Take him out while he's unconscious." Blake smirked at Adam's words while Conner just began to walk away.

"Hold on. There's something I need to tell you guys." Adam said, stopping Conner in his tracks.

"What's that?"

"I'm waiting for everyone to be awake."

"...Fine." Conner replied, taking a seat near Adam, but distancing himself all the same.

Hunter moaned as his head rolled to the side. His head hitting a hot object was what caused him to jolt awake. He knew it wasn't his body that was touching him. Looking up, he looked curiously at Blake. What? Why was he holding him? "What the hell?" He asked, sitting up, moving to sit pup beside Blake.

"You were hurt." Blake said simply.

"So?" Hunter asked flatly.

"You're welcome."

Before Hunter could get angry or say any more, Jason had begun to wake up as well. After a few minutes of pointless banter between Conner and Jason, Adam asked for them to stop.

"Listen. The green samurai. Amidst the fighting, he told me that he hadn't even gotten a scratch in while he fought Dustin." Adam explained to them. They all looked at him with questioning stares.

"And you believe him?" Conner asked.

Adam, annoyed with the sudden constant output by Conner, nodded.

"Yeah, I do. If you didn't notice, the same thing just happened to us. You think it's just a coincidence?" Adam asked them. They, even Conner, was quiet now.

"That's true, but, why would Zedd attack Dustin?" Jason asked curiously. "It doesn't make any sense."

Adam nodded as well. "I'm not even one hundred percent sure it was Zedd. There's something else. I just don't know what."

"Do any of you remember anything before we met and got these powers?" Blake asked suddenly. They all looked at him this time with the stares, these more bitter.

"I've always wanted the power. This is how I've always been." Hunter commented. The others sort of agreed, give or take a few details.

"Why, do you?" Jason asked, a curious look in his eyes.

Blake thought only for a quick second, before shaking his head. "No, no I don't."

"Then why ask a stupid question like that?" Hunter asked, rolling his eyes.

Blake wasn't being honest though. He remembered when he first fought Tori, there was somewhat of a flashback during that time. Was it a flashback? Maybe it was a yearning for something he could never have.

In his mind he had seen himself and Tori. She was teaching him how to surf. It was hard for him and in the shallow water, he kept falling the whole time. They laughed together every time. Blake, giving up on the surfing, had gone onto tackling Tori into the water. They splashed around, having a good time...

He snapped back into reality, seeing that Hunter was still giving him that cold stare. Why did it bother him that Hunter was looking at him that way? Why should he care? He figured he must be the one ranger Zedd picked that actually had a little heart left. That heart full of dead emotions. "I thought it'd help."

That seemed to satisfy Hunter, for now. "Then what's the plan? The rangers don't seem as big a threat anymore. If, that is, they were telling the truth." Hunter said, looking over at Jason. Though Hunter wasn't red technically, he still had a little bit of resentment for him. This reason being that he had been the leader. Conner being second, in a way. Hunter knew he was stronger than the kid and if second in command had to be picked, he'd make it a point to show who it should be.

"We find out who is." Jason said firmly, referring to who the biggest threat to them were.

-

Though it was seven on one, Dustin was still able to get the upper hand against the rangers. They kept trying different attacks, himself able to block them. If he got into the heat of things, he'd simply go underground and avoid them until he was ready to pop back up.

Kim decided to stay back to help Sensei. He was okay, just weak from all the mental stress he had used to, in turn, use against Dustin.

"Let Dustin go." Tori said as she went to kick, being blocked by Dustin's foot.

"I am Dustin." He said firmly, grabbing her wrist and swinging her around, nailing all of the rangers. He then gasped, letting her go. He stared at his hand for a moment. What was that?

He glared at her, deciding not to touch her as much anymore. Tori wasn't the only one to notice his reaction to grabbing on her. Shane then stepped into the fight, allowing himself to be grabbed by Dustin. He acted as if grabbing them stung.

Evil Dustin then looked at them as he reached his epiphany. "Ohh, the little lion's found his friends. Cute." He mocked, as he pulled out his sword. Tori and Shane had realized the same thing.

Tommy and Ethan reacted, grabbing Dustin from behind, causing him to drop the sword.

Kira and Aisha stepped back, knowing that there wasn't much they could do so they went to help Kim with Sensei.

"Let me go!" Dustin screamed, obviously irritated.

Tori and Shane reached out, grabbing Dustin firmly. He squirmed, hissing in pain.

"Arrrgh!" Dustin fumed, disappearing under the ground again. When he resurfaced, he looked a little unbalanced.

Before he could gather everything, he felt blow after blow from the four rangers who were fighting him. A punch to his back which sent him forward into a kick in the stomach which shoved the fist into his side.

So many things were happening at once, he couldn't take it. Another cry escaped his lips as Sensei had once again entered his unstable mind.

Dustin stood still, feeling his knees give. Before he hit the ground, he had demorphed, passing out in the process.

Shane had reached forward, catching Dustin swiftly in his arms. He looked like Dustin again, except his skin could burn them at the touch.

"Is he back?" Shane asked, laying him down softly on the ground.

Sensei frowned. "I am not certain. I think there is still more to do before he is back to us safely."

-

Dustin had once again felt the lion's presence near him. He felt himself keep slipping in and out of his conscious that it was hard to determine what was real anymore.

One moment, he'd be trapped in his mind, tied tightly to some pole, the next, he'd be watching himself take blow after blow from his friends. Why were they attacking him? It hurt so bad. They were hurting him. Why were his friends fighting him?

Then he'd go back to being tied to that pole, hearing the taunting voice of his evil self, reminding him exactly what had happened. He had gotten captured of course and was put in some sort of a fire. Or was it more like lava? He couldn't remember. He could only focus on the pain.

When Sensei had attacked his mind, he was the only one who was not hurt much by it. He could hear Sensei's encouraging words to himself and the lion that it was their chance.

He pulled hard, feeling the ropes going slack again. His muscles burned and ached but there was another sensation. It was very little, barely there but he could feel an inner strength befalling him. Was this it? Would he be free?

He was so tired though. And weak. And helpless. He tugged again, smiling for the first time since the last time he had gotten free before everything went black.

-

"You're telling me no one has ever found this place? Planes have never flown above it and discovered it?" Haley asked, looking at the building that was their destination.

Rocky shook his head. "Nope. Pretty cool, huh?" He said as they approached it.

"Not really, I mean, this goes to show that there could be thousands of villains hiding out in our world without us knowing." She frowned at the negativity but it was true.

"Well, at least we have some of the greatest minds on our side who will track them down easily." Billy complimented, obviously it going towards Haley. She smiled, blushing slightly.

Rocky and Billy, still having the code to be able to unlock the facility, did so, watching slowly as the doors opened. Haley looked in awe.

The entered the familiar, well for Rocky and Billy, command center, it apparent to have been vacant for quite some time. The lights had turned on, dim as they hadn't been used for years. There was dust everywhere, winding up into the air as they walked.

Haley looked around at all the different systems. "Ethan would be jealous." She said, imagining his goofy self going crazy to actually be in here.

Rocky and Billy both laughed lightly at her comment.

"I never thought I'd be in The command center. This is so astounding." She was in complete shock and awe. She felt like a teenager who had gotten to meet The Jonas Brothers. Star struck.

Billy had gone back behind a few machines, searching for something. "I know he's here. He was sent back, just in case." Billy informed Rocky as he too went over towards boxes.

"How? And...how did you know?" Rocky asked as he helped move boxes for Billy.

Billy gave him a sheepish grin. "You can't tell me you completely resumed a normal life without checking up on things?" He asked Rocky.

"Of course I did." He said, pausing as he looked at Billy. "Okay, okay, maybe I did keep up some tabs." He laughed. They both had secretly kept up to date on power rangers and how they were doing, just, not quite as much as Tommy did.

"Found him!" Billy announced proudly.

Haley tried to look around Rocky at what exactly Billy had found.

"Found who?" She asked. Rocky turned to look at her, grinning. Billy was too.

-

I'm not even going to have you guys guess who they found, it's terribly obvious! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I think it went pretty well.

I hope the attitudes of the venom rangers aren't too confusing. I mean, they can't really stand each other to like them, but at the same time, they realize they're a team and stick up for each other. Minus Blake and his thoughts, they somewhat know they're connected, but, don't know why. None of the have had any strong memories or anything float back. That's why they bicker but then are civil.

Please leave me plenty of reviews!


	12. Is A Friend Indeed

You guys are lucky that I'm totally bored out of my mind! I've contemplated waiting until tomorrow to put this but, I'm impatient! I expect some good reviews for doing three in one day! Woot!

Hell Is Back

Chapter 12 Is A Friend Indeed

Haley watched quietly as Billy and Rocky lifted the robotic looking construction over into the center of the room. It obviously hadn't been operative in years. The dust wasn't as old as the rest of the place.

"Is that...Alpha 5?" Haley asked, stunned. She had seen the video diaries that Tommy had and knew almost as much as he did about the past rangers. Well, of course he knew a lot more, but, you get the idea.

Billy grinned as he began to operate on the robot.

"Yeah. After he and Zordon went back to their own world, Alpha supposedly never left. Before Zordon had been captured by Astronema, he had sent Alpha 5 back to Earth, back to this location. Well, we assumed anyways. We knew that he was brought back but there was no other place we could imagine Zordon bringing him than, here." Rocky explained to her, gliding his hand softly along the control panels. Only Alpha could be able to reconstruct any of this.

"But...Zordon, wasn't he, destroyed?" Haley hated feeling so out of what was already known between the rangers.

Rocky and Billy shared a look of tragedy at what she had asked. Billy turned, deciding to let Rocky tell her the story.

"Technically, yes. Andros, the Red Space Ranger had known of Zordon's abduction and had gone on a mission to save him. His sister was the one who had kidnapped Zordon. That was hard for the ranger in its self. Then Ecliptor, Astronema's caregiver had attacked Andros." He paused, trying to remember exactly what was told.

"Zordon told Andros that the only way to accomplish destroying the evil was to destroy him. Andros had to bust the tube that kept Zordon alive. In this effect, the 'Z-wave' was dispersed which supposedly destroyed any and all the evil in the universe." Rocky told her, sad at the sacrifice Zordon had to take for their everyone's sake. It was more unfortunate because no one knew of this, taking life for granted.

Haley listened intently, feeling her emotion's coming forward at the story. It was truly a tragedy. The pain they all must have felt upon learning the most respected, good hearted being in the world had died protecting everyone.

"If the tube was destroyed and he died, how could he help now?" Haley thought out loud, not quite meaning to. She hated pushing it but she needed to know so she wouldn't be completely lost.

"Well, we believe that he didn't send Alpha here for no reason. Maybe, in the case that something did happen to him, he knew that Alpha would be the only one to revive him." Billy said from somewhere behind Alpha's frame.

"He's been dead for...well, for quite some time." Haley wanted to be practical.

"Yeah, but, he's also from another galaxy in the universe. His spirit, more or less, was trapped in a tube. A program. Have you ever lost a document on the computer?" Billy asked Haley, standing up for a moment to face her.

She thought for a minute. "Yeah, I think so. I mean, I've lost power while typing out papers before. But what's that got to do with any.."

"You do know that those files are never actually gone, right?" He didn't mean to cut her off but was distracted in the explanation.

"Yeah, they're in the memory files.. You've got to be quite..."

"The hacker to get things back. To bring them back to life." Billy smiled, pointing at Alpha. Haley smiled too at the understanding.

"Where'd Rocky go?" Haley asked, noticing he was no longer in the room.

Billy looked around. "I think he probably went to get a hold of Tommy. See how they're doing."

-

"AHHHHHH!" Dustin screamed for what felt like the hundredth time.

Against their consciences, they decided that restraining him was the best option. The tied him to one of posts out front near the training session areas. The pole was for individual combat practice if you didn't have a partner or wanted some extra time to work by yourself. They figured this would be the best to tie him to since he was very strong.

Dustin was in a standing position. His arms were behind the pole, his wrists tied tightly with rope. This rope they tended to use with their students to practice their dodging abilities. Using your judgment to avoid a hit, not your arms. All the students dreaded this practice. An extra rope was brought to go around his thighs, preventing him from kicking.

Shane and Tori were on either side of the thrashing Dustin who was trying desperately to flinch out of their touch. They had tried to connect with his mind but it wasn't working. Whatever block was there was working well this time.

The evil part of him had learned of the lion and was keeping him out. How, they weren't sure. It seemed like he was getting more and more restless.

Shane and Tori now attempted at touching him. It had a greater effect. He screamed which pained all of them to watch but if it could better the connection, it was worth it. They had originally thought that if he was unconscious they could connect with Dustin but, there seemed to be nothing on in him. When evil Dustin was unconscious, so was their Dustin.

"STOOOP!" A choked sob startled everyone.

Tommy, Kim, Aisha, Kira, Ethan, Cam, and Sensei had been keeping their distance on the trio, knowing they were the only ones who could help Dustin now. Sensei tried frequently to enter Dustin's mind but it was proving to be futile. Everyone's heads snapped up to look at Dustin.

His head hung low, his shoulders shaking. "Dustin?" Tori asked lightly.

"How...how could you hurt me Tori? Why?" A small voice asked through a cry.

"I...Dustin, I we're trying to help you. Are you okay?" She asked, beginning to tilt his head up.

"I'm FINE!" A sinister laugh bellowed as she brought his head up, those crimson eyes glaring at her. He was satisfied with his trick.

"What...?" She was confused and upset at his mental game he seemed to be wanting to play.

Shane put his arm around her as a tear escaped. "What can we do?!" She asked him, losing hope.

"We've got to get through to him." Shane told her in a horrible attempt at comforting her. This is where they really needed Dustin.

She looked at Shane, nodding. They grasped hands, closing their eyes, focusing, centering their selves.

Then, almost at the same time, Tori, then Shane placed their free hands on top of Dustin's forehead. Tori's palm burning at the touch of Dustin's burning forehead. She ignored it. They had pushed his head with such a force, that it was shoved roughly into the pole.

An angry, pained hiss was let out of Dustin. The others watching could almost see the pole shaking as Dustin was. "ARrrrrggghhhh! Nooo..Stop! IT HURTS! OH GOD!" Dustin cried. It sounded like the evil Dustin was in just as much pain now. Maybe they were getting to Dustin.

Tori and Shane, now calm and one with their thoughts, opened their eyes. Dustin's were squeezed so tight, they were sure he'd explode. His teeth were clenched together, they could almost hear the shifting of his bones from the pressure. Every nerve, ever muscle, every vein in Dustin's body was popping out with all the tension he was holding onto.

His eyes flew open, causing Shane and Tori to jump back. They were brown again. That soft brown color. Before anything could be registered, Dustin screamed in pain, closing his eyes again, slamming his head, this time on his own, against the pole.

A sickening laugh was ushered once more from Dustin. The eyes opened, crimson again. His facial expression then went sour, his eye color fading back to brown. Tori and Shane grasped onto either side of his face, trying to keep him there.

"Come on Dustin! You can do this!" Shane encouraged him. Dustin looked as if his eyes shifted to look at Shane but he was in far too much pain to register much.

Another scream and this time Shane and Tori were pushed from some sort of energy that was released from Dustin. They stood up, watching their friend. The energy wave had gave him a boost, enabling him to free himself from the dreaded pole.

He collapsed to the ground on his knees, grabbing his head.

"Get out of me!"

"Never, you're my prisoner."

"No, not anymore!"

"Yes, I'm stro...STRONGER!"

To watch this you'd have to be definitely mentally stable, thankfully they all were. Watching someone argue and fight with their self, it was discomforting. His voice changing from an angry, cynical, narcissist way back to a pained young man. They could hear their Dustin getting weaker.

Shane and Tori went back to his sides. He was flailing around, actually accidentally swiping Tori across the face with his hand. She ignored it, grabbing it when it came near again.

"Dustin, fight it!" Shane said again, trying to help him. "We're here for you."

Dustin went to grab the necklace with his free hand. He knew what he needed to do. The cord was so thick. Why couldn't he just break it?

Tori was on his front side, seeing what he was trying to do. "SHANE! Shane, the necklace! It's the necklace!" She yelled to him. Shane had been behind Dustin, trying to steady him.

When Shane went to grab it, he hissed in pain as he was forced back, landing on his back for that matter. The necklace had some type of an enchantment on it. It couldn't just be broken.

Tori, thankfully, then had an epiphany. Lava. Fire. Water. Fire hates Water. She stepped away from Dustin who, evil and non evil self, stood up, facing her angrily.

She placed her index fingers together, creating a ball of water. She then shot it at Dustin. The sizzling and pained scream echoed throughout the area for probably a radius of a mile.

The real Dustin took this as his chance. He grabbed the necklace, pulling it off with all of his might.

The amulet fell to the ground, shattering upon impact of the ground. No one paid much attention to that, however.

Dustin's body looked as if someone was pulling on his arms, stretching him out. His head was tilted up towards the sky. Black, Yellow, and Red smoke surrounded him. The Red was almost the color of his skin. It was as if his skin was clear, his whole inside burning red. Black smoke was coming out of his mouth and nose as the yellow began to leak out as well.

Dustin screamed a heart wrenching scream as the black and yellow disappeared, only the red remaining. It was burning him as it came out. His whole body being reminded of when he was first placed in the lava. A popping like sound was heard and Dustin crumpled to the ground. He landed on his knees and then fell onto his back. Everyone had been so shocked at the scene that no one realized he was falling to catch him.

His head hit the ground, his arms landing outstretched to the sides.

To make the scene even weirder was what the morpher did. There no longer was a morpher on Dustin's wrist. Instead, was a scorpion. To be exact, it was the Death Stalker Scorpion.

"No one make a move." Sensei whispered just loud enough so everyone could barely hear him.

They needed to wait for the scorpion to get off of Dustin or else one sting, and he would be instantly injected. Dustin's body would be in no condition to fight off poison.

So no one moved, too afraid that the scorpion would sting the friend they had been trying so hard to save.

"Please don't wake up Dustin." Tori said quietly, trying to breathe just enough to not move too much.

Dustin was lying there, breathing too heavily. He was sweating badly and his clothes were badly torn. No doubt from being taken and being put into the lava. He didn't even have shoes on anymore. Then again, he may not have been wearing any when he went meditating.

His khaki shorts were shredded for the most part. They still covered him but had holes in them, one side a tare all the way to his upper thigh. His yellow tee-shirt was barely on anymore. The side that would normally cover his heart was a big rip, showing his chest. There seemed to be a cut on his lower abdomen, no one sure of where it could have come from. Then again, they had done a lot to evil Dustin. Maybe one of them had done it? That thought was quickly gone. None of them could imagine their selves hurting him. It didn't look deep. The right side of his shirt was ripped at the shoulder, it hanging on loosely.

"Tommy, you there?" A voice made a few of the group jump, which spooked the Scorpion. The scorpion brought up it's stinger, looking ready to plunge it into Dustin's wrist, into his beating veins.

-

Rocky had indeed gone outside, trying to get a hold of Tommy. He wanted to inform him that they had found Alpha 5. That that was what they were doing. Their destination was just to Angel Grove.

He figured that Tommy would be thankful to know that they hadn't gone out on some suicide mission.

Before Rocky called upon Tommy, he looked outside the surrounding area. He recalled the hundreds of times he and the rangers had been brought to this location to help save the world.

Adam and Rocky had a bond going strong as they had joined the ranger team together. They were glad to have each other, as well as, Aisha, to get the hang of fighting baddie after baddie. The others were used to this type of lifestyle, this trio just getting started.

Adam and Rocky would often go to the dojo to get their training done, making the other stronger and stronger. Adam was Rocky's best friend for as long as he could remember.

He wasn't even sure when they had met, to be honest, They were very young. They became friends for their passion for the martial arts, that was certain. He could remember being thirteen and the two of them making a bet to see who would be a black belt first.

Adam had by a week since Rocky was too cocky, but Adam never was conceited about being first. He was glad yes, but he didn't rub it in, ever.

"Adam, man, we're going to get you back. I promise." Rocky said to no one, sighing.

Clearing his throat, Rocky moved his wrist that had the morpher to his mouth, hitting a button.

"Tommy, you there?"

-

Without thinking about it, Shane grabbed a huge rock, chucking it at the scorpion. It hit it, sending it a few feet from any of the people. It got up hurriedly, trying to look for an escape. Cam had taken the opportunity since they were able to move, to grab a samurai sword that was on a nearby stand. Convenient, yes.

He swiftly went near the scorpion, bringing the blade down, cutting off it's stinger. Blood, black blood at that, spewed around the area. It squirmed one last time before it fell silent.

At the same moment, Tori had crawled to Dustin's body. Sensei and Shane had moved as well. Tommy was still looking in shock at his communicator on his wrist while Kim and Aisha remained where they were. Kira and Ethan had moved closer to Tommy, deciding to get out of the way but to stay near their companion.

"Dustin?" Tori asked gently, placing her hand on his forehead. "He's burning up..." Getting a look from Shane she quickly added. "Not like that, he's got a fever."

Sensei had grabbed Dustin's wrist, examining it. "He is lucky. The scorpion did not have a reaction time quite as fast as Shane's. Congratulations to you both." Sensei smiled, placing Dustin's arm back on the ground.

"We're not done yet. Is he going to be okay?" Shane asked, looking down at their friend. He looked much too pale.

Sensei looked down at his former student. "We must take him inside. He is going to need more help now than ever." He wondered if what they had to offer would be good enough. He may need a hospital. They would have to wait and see.

-

I don't know about you, but I liked this chapter. Maybe it's because I'm evil and torture is my middle name? Lol. Jk, but I hope you liked the craziness of it. Was that a good enough way to save Dustin? Was he saved? Is it a trick? Or not? Huhh?

The whole Zordon bit, don't hate me if I'm inaccurate. Like I've said, I stopped watching power rangers when like the whole space ones started. I don't even think I finished watching Turbo minus the movie lol. Changing of characters just sucked and then I started watching only Ninja Storm and Dino Thunder.

So, I got all that info from the wikipedia. If any of it's wrong or you think more needs to be added, feel free to let me know, and I'll change it.

Please, please leave me some reviews! Tell me what you think, seriously! Thankyou!


	13. Mind Over Matter

So, I'm all awesome and have you all like, three chapters in one day and I only get barely ten reviews? Lamee! I know you guys can do way better than that! Thank you to my usual reviewers, you're all awesome! When this story is over, I'll definitely be giving a few shout outs.

If that sounded a little like Supernatural, well, I did kinda, maybe, borrow the evil, possessed like thing that goes down when it exit's the body! Don't hate

Also, I've realized for quite some time that I've been spelling Ha(y)ley wrong, but, I really don't want to go back and fix it. I hope Haley is okay for you all!

Last! Sorry it's been a few days, I've just been way busy to get a chance to update! Don't be too mad!

Hell Is Back

Chapter 13 Mind Over Matter

As much as everyone would have preferred to be celebrating, it didn't look like it would be happening for a while.

It had been a little more than an hour since their showdown with Dustin. Sensei was mentally wiped out and the level of anxiety with everyone was enough to crush anything.

Dustin had collapsed to the ground and had yet to wake up. He was breathing, which was good, but that didn't mean he was okay.

Shane had carefully picked up his unusually light weighted friend and carried him inside to a small room that was used for their infirmary. Most of the time the only reason the room was ever used was if someone got a cut from sparring, not to take care of the sick.

They had decided that if Dustin didn't show any signs of getting better by the time the sun rose, which, looked to be in another ten hours or so, they'd take him to the nearby city hospital.

Shane, with the help of Cam and Tommy, redressed Dustin in a ninja training outfit, that being the only light clothed items that could be found for him to wear right now.

He now laid quietly on a bed, his arms slumped to his sides, not being able to keep their place on his chest. It was as if every ounce of strength Dustin had was gone.

From a distance, it may look as if he was just resting, too tired to do anything. The reality was far from that. His breathing wasn't calm, or in a controlled rhythm. It was quick paced and shallow. His chest rose and fell so fast that you'd wonder if he was hyperventilating in his sleep. The sweat over his skin that was visible glistened from the light of the bulbs that hovered above him. His skin was very hot but it wasn't near what it had been. Now Dustin was showing signs of a bad fever. His temperature just peaked over 107 degrees Fahrenheit and they debated heavily on getting him some doctors.

"We are not sure what the cause of Dustin's sickness is. We cannot in trust doctors to know what to do." Sensei knew that doctors knew best but, this was a different case.

"What should we do?" Tori asked, not once leaving his side.

"We shall try and comfort him as much as possible. It is now an inner battle that only he can surpass."

Tori and Kira decided to periodically get cool towels to place on his neck, forehead, and arms. They wanted to try and cool him down, hoping that it would bring the fever down, if even just a little bit.

Knowing she should get something to eat, Kira convinced Tori to go with her to the kitchen area to get something. It had been a long day for all of them.

Agreeing, the two girls left the room. Shane had been waiting for them to leave, going in as soon as they walked out.

He glanced down at his comrade, taking a seat beside him. He looked over the boy, it hurting him deeply. He wasn't used to not having Dustin and his positive outlook around. It was quiet now.

Grabbing a hold of Dustin's scorching hand, Shane cleared his throat. "Hey bro. I wish you would just wake up. Just give us a hint that you're okay…" He paused, waiting to see if maybe something would happen. "You're my best friend man. We've grown up together. You've got to pull through this. You got out of the hardest part. You're stronger than this. Come on Dust." Shane frowned, squeezing Dustin's hand.

Shane closed his eyes, feeling that his will would be enough to wake him up. Looking up abruptly, Shane stared at his hand in Dustin's.

Did Dustin just squeeze it? Was it his imagination?

-

Dustin woke up, laying on the ground. He was confused to say the least. Looking around, he realized that he was in some sort of forest. It wasn't the one near Ninja Ops so he began to worry about what was going on exactly. He looked down at what he was wearing, gasping slightly.

Instead of his clothes he remembered wearing last, he was wearing some type of a robe. It was yellow, of course, that draped over his body very naturally. If he was around any of his friends, he'd feel like an idiot but, it did look kind of cool.

He stood up, looking around once more. "Where am I?"

"You are currently in an altered state of consciousness. my friend." A random voice answered.

Dustin pivoted around, looking for the owner of the voice. "What? Who are you? What's that mean?"

"It means you must find your connection to your world before it is lost forever." The voice, now coming from a different direction said.

Sighing, Dustin looked around some more. He didn't even know what was going on. His whole body was hurting, that was obvious, but it was as if he could pretend the pain wasn't there. He just had to think of moving, and it worked fine. He knew there was pain, but, he couldn't register it.

He tried to remember why he was in this position in the first place but, nothing came to mind. He honestly had no idea what had happened. The last thing he remembered was beginning to walk out of the cave after he reconnected with his spirit. The lion! "LION! Are you there?" He called out, hoping he was there to help him.

Getting no response, Dustin began to get worried. Where was he? Wasn't he supposed to be there for him? "Lion! I need you!" Then a thought popped into his mind.

Was the reason he couldn't be back was because there was something wrong with the lion? Had he gotten hurt somehow? Oh no.

-

Why do I care about these people? What do they matter to me? Ugh.

Blake jogged around the training room or whatever it was as they awaited their next assignment. He was beginning to get a lot more of these images of his. This feeling of longing to be down on Earth with Tori. But why?

He wanted to kill her, that was obvious. Then there were these other thoughts. Why did he want so badly to touch her? To hold her? To have her arms wrapped around his waist? It made absolutely no sense to him.

Then, not just her was in his immediate thoughts. Why did he feel so close to Hunter? He felt like there was supposed to be such a strong connection between him and the older boy. There was nothing similar about the two. They were complete opposites in physical, mental, and emotional ways.

Which brought more thoughts his way. Why did he have any emotions? Why did it seem like he cared unlike the others? Was he flawed? It annoyed him to no end that he was actually caring.

While the others assumed Dustin must have died, he couldn't help but worry about the guy. Was he okay? Did the power rangers actually destroy him? The only thing they knew was that the morpher had been destroyed.

Not only did they feel the reaction to the death of the scorpion, but they heard Zedd raging about it failing. It seemed also that water was somewhat of a weakness for them but they weren't told why. Rita had just informed Zedd to not let us be too near water. They obviously didn't care to go into detail about it.

"Blake!" A voice, Blake recognizing it as Hunter's, called behind him. He stopped running, turning to face the guy who was coming towards him.

"What?"

"We need to get Room 394."

That room was just more of a conference room, nothing important about it at all. "Why?"

Hunter actually cracked a small smile. "To watch Conner and Jason attempt to destroy each other."

Blake smirked, following the older boy to the room. He let all his thoughts go to the back of him mind.

-

In Blake's mind, he had naturally been doing a lot more better than Dustin or Hunter had been. Dustin was free physically but no where near being safe mentally.

Blake hadn't even known what was going on exactly. He had woken up much the same way Hunter had, tied to some type of a wall, unknowing where the cord was that held him in place.

It seemed that whatever evil that had filled in him wasn't strong enough. Blake's heart was too full of love and life to let it get too much strength of his mind. The evil had his body and let his output be said but Blake controlled his thoughts.

He had long since been free from the wall, but hadn't had the slightest idea how to escape. How does one escape their own mind anyways? He figured there had to be some type of a block that stopped him from escaping.

He knew he was weak but he felt so close to being in control of himself again. He had pushed himself out a few times but was quickly shoved back into the eternal quiet, darkness of his mind.

-

Rocky had updated Billy and Haley on what Tommy had told him. He had basically told him that they were able to distract Dustin away from the rest of the group, enabling them to, somewhat, get him back.

He also thanked Rocky for having a knack for communicating at the wrong time. He was joking about it obviously since everything was okay; no harm, no foul.

It was then Billy's turn to give good news. Then again, he didn't have to.

"Ayyie-yie yie yie yie yie yie! Billy!" The words floated throughout the whole room, echoing in the silence.

The robot looked over to the other presences it felt, undoubtedly smiling though it was a robot who didn't have those sort of expressions. "Rocky! It's been a long time!" He said, happy to see his friends.

"Alpha, this is Haley, a good friend of ours." Billy introduced the robot to her. Haley simply smiled and waved.

"Alpha, how are you feeling?" Rocky asked, patting the robot's shoulder.

"Gee, rangers! It's been years since I've been rebooted! You look so much older." Rocky and Billy both laughed at the observation Alpha had made about them.

"It's been close to fifteen years Alpha." Billy informed him.

"Fifteen years! I've missed so much!"

Billy and Rocky, even with slight input from Haley, filled him in on how there had been series of rangers after they had left the team. That the might morphin' power rangers were no more and that there were many teams around the Earth since then.

"Tommy is still a ranger? He's a great leader!" Alpha said, not surprised that Tommy was still one. It was only fitting that he remain a ranger for as long as possible.

"Yeah, he's still a ranger." Haley told him, she being the most closest person to Tommy as a ranger, again.

"But, there must be something wrong if you've brought me back." Alpha sounded a little sad at that, causing the group to frown in return. He had hoped that maybe they would have brought him back regardless. He was a robot though, and he shouldn't have such feelings.

"Did Zordon tell you why he wanted to here again?" Rocky asked, wanting to start to get to the point.

"Yes. He told me that he needed me here when the world would once again need saving...Oh no!! Is the world in danger!?" His voice suddenly jumped to slightly panicked.

This time, Billy and Rocky, again with Haley's slight inputs, told him about their friends being kidnapped and turned into the enemy. They also brought up the lava pit and Divatox.

"Divatox, how did she come back?"

"Well, there worst part of this whole ordeal is, well, Lord Zedd and Rita are back." Billy answered, dreading the fact that they had to bring him up again. He still haunted Billy sometimes.

"Oh no no no no no! This is not good news at all! We must get to work at once!" With that said, Alpha hurriedly made his way to the main computer keys.

"How do we get this working?" Billy asked, coming to Alpha's side. Haley did as well.

"It's not as difficult as it seems. First you must connect the distrubution plugs to the sdfs3 and gksd3 connectors after reconstructing the radio wave frequencies to one of the above..." Rocky drowned them out, not understanding a word he was saying.

Sensei was right to bring Haley with them because Rocky definitely was no help. He felt slightly bummed out though because so far it didn't seem like he had done anything.

He wasn't able to bring Alpha to life, he couldn't save Adam, he could have gotten Dustin poisoned, and he certainly couldn't help with making the command center functional again. He figured maybe he was there to be some type of body guard, though, Billy could hold his own as well.

Sighing, Rocky leaned back, watching the three work.

-

"What are you trying to say!?" Jason bellowed, though there was no need since he and Conner were almost nose to nose.

"You're not fit to be a leader!" Conner replied back, standing his ground.

"Oh yeah?! What makes you think you could do better?"

"For one, I wouldn't have been stupid enough to let my teammate leave alone!"

"He was fighting to females! It's his own fault for not being careful!"

"See! A leader should CARE about his team!"

"Like you really CARE about any of us, or Dustin for that matter!"

"So! I at least would have called him back to the main area!"

The bickering had gone on for at least a half an hour, neither guy attempting to strike the other, but neither backing down either.

Adam had sat on a chair at the far end of the room, looking annoyed yet amused at the scene before him. He had watched as Hunter decided Blake should be there to witness the brawl that was indefinitely going to happen.

The two had come back shortly after, going unnoticed by either red ranger. The anger was almost pulsating off the two.

"Come on. Either you two fight or shut the hell up." Hunter groaned, not wanting to watch them just stand there.

"You have something to say?" Jason snapped. Conner looking over at Hunter briefly.

"Why, you want me to have something to say?" Hunter growled, beginning to stand.

Surprisingly enough to Blake, he and Adam both placed their hands on either side of Hunter's shoulders to keep him sitting.

"Don't waste your time. If they destroy each other, then you're next in command." Adam told him casually without looking at him. The only reason he would assume Hunter in command was because of his color. Red was normally the leader and Crimson was close enough,

Conner and Jason didn't feel the need to comment for they were back to their stare down.

"What are you waiting for, kid?" Jason snickered, knowing that that struck a nerve with Conner.

Without hesitating, Conner swung, connecting his first with Jason's jaw, sending him back a little ways.

He didn't get to bask in the glory too much before Jason retaliated by hitting Conner in the chest with a force strong enough to cause him to fly back against the wall.

"Too bad we don't have popcorn." Hunter smirked.

-

Well, I hope that was alright. Kind of another filler chapter! Blaah!

Like I said, I've been really busy and a little distracted lately but I promise to keep replying as soon as I can!

Please leave me reviews. Good or bad, I love them!


	14. The Elite Alpha

Well, thank you to everyone who has reviewed! I love you guys definitely! I'm a little worried about this chapter because I've never wrote a well written fight, so, bare with me!

This has nothing to do with the story, but, any Gossip Girl fans out there? If so, OMGOSH at Nate! If you've watched it, you know what I'm talking about. Poor guy, can't believe what he's going to do for money!!

Hell Is Back

Chapter 14 The Elite Alpha

Dustin wondered around the eerily too quiet forest, looking for the lion. He was starting to get worried since the lion had said he'd always be there when Dustin needed him.

He needed him and he wasn't coming. That definitely couldn't be good. Even under the circumstances, this made Dustin remember an old story.

It was something along the lines of a lion who had caught a mouse. The mouse had pleaded with the lion that if he let him go, he'd someday return the favor. The lion, thinking it was hilarious for a puny mouse to help a massive lion, let him go because that was just too funny to him. It then turned out the lion got trapped in a net, unable to get free. The mouse had come back, using it's teeth to gnaw at the net until the lion could escape.

That's how Dustin felt now. He felt like the little helpless mouse in search to save the massive lion. Oh great. The fable turned out well so, hopefully, this would too. It's not like his life was on the line or anything. Not.

He felt a small prickle of utter happiness as well. He wasn't sure where it was coming from which is why he didn't accept it. He was afraid that it could be another trick. When he let his mind sort of go towards that feeling, he was overwhelmed with the feeling. There was no pain, no darkness, no sadness. He felt that he could just give up. Go to it.

Then again, from movies and television, that good feeling was a sign of death. Well, not that he would feel any pain, supposedly, but that would mean his physical form would die, thus hurting all of his friends and family. He couldn't do that either.

Sighing, Dustin continued in his search for the lion. He was growing tired though, that was definite. He wanted to just lay down and rest, but again, that feeling was there and he didn't want to give up. He couldn't.

Once Dustin had begun to lose hope that he would be searching around aimlessly, he noticed a large figure not too far ahead of him. It looked like it was resting, at least, that's what he hoped anyways.

Feeling a sudden burst of energy, Dustin jogged over to the form, ushering a gasp from his lips at the form in front of him. "Oh no."

-

"I think we have hit a very good defense against the venom rangers." Sensei said, hating to think of their former allies as an enemy. The worst of it was going by their names of venom rangers. He felt like calling them by that status was to give up the understanding they were once friends.

Tommy nodded in agreement. "Obviously, the water had an affect on the necklace. Do you think it works towards all of them?"

This time it was Sensei's turn to nod his head. "I believe so. It seemed to enable Dustin to remove the necklace." He had then had another thought. "Which also means that Dustin was never completely lost, simply not able to be in control."

"So you think that the others are in the same boat? They are conscious just, unable to stop their selves?" Tommy offered. It made sense.

"Yes. I can hope that maybe if we are strategic about it, we should be able to get them back sooner. We must focus on one at a time, be near the water, and have their closest connections around them." Tommy then frowned slightly which didn't go unnoticed by Sensei who in question, looked at him curiously.

"Well, what will happen with Adam? I mean, Kim and I could help out Jace, but, Adam needs Rocky and Billy, but, mainly Rocky. That's his best friend. He, Aisha, Billy, and especially Rocky have the strongest connections." He frowned.

"We then must hope Rocky, Billy, and Haley are quickly successful with their task."

"Rocky said they were able to find and reboot Alpha. Hopefully, he'll be able to find Zordon, if that's even possible." Tommy sighed, knowing it's be a long shot if he even existed anymore.

"Billy is highly intelligent. With the help of Rocky, Haley, and Alpha, I cannot see any doubts in positive news soon."

Tommy, deciding it be best to go with Sensei's instincts, agreed. "Who do you think would be best to target next?" He didn't like saying target really, because, well, that was what you did to an enemy. Tommy couldn't see them as his enemies.

"Based on the fighting that has been taking place, it appears to me that Blake may be the next person to easily come back. He's always had a strong will power against evil such as possessions or tricks. I believe that if it was not for the necklaces which seem to trap the evil inside of them, he would be back already." Sensei informed Tommy.

"Then we play with his emotions. Try and keep him as confused as possible. Which means..."

"Tori must help him the most." Besides Cam sort of filling in that trio, Hunter, Dustin, and Tori were the only ones close to Blake. Cam was the least out of the four to get closer to Blake. Hunter was evil still and Dustin was fighting for his own life. Tori had to be the one to save Blake.

"It's going to be hard on her, don't you think?" Tommy questioned since he knew that Blake was more than just a teammate, but had a stronger, personal connection to Tori.

Sensei closed his eyes with a mournful sigh. "I think it will but she knows it's for the best. Her water power will be greatly needed for everyone but it'll be mainly her to bring him back safely."

"Do you think there's any safer, less painful way to get rid of the evil?" Tommy wished that Larigo was here now. He had just evaporated the evil.

"I cannot say for certain. The fire from the pit of evil is one thing but these venom powers are dangerous on their own. We were fortunate that Shane was able to remove the scorpion for, I am not sure how long it would have stayed connected with Dustin before poisoning him." Sensei recalled from what they had grown to learn of the venom powers.

"We are also able to learn that whatever hit is received by them, it is as if it goes away, until they are back to their former selves. Dustin has numerous bruising and contusions over his body. They were not there, or at least not acknowledged, until he returned to his normal state." Sensei added. He didn't want any of the others to know for fear that they would hold back more than they already were.

Before they could continue their conversation which, was pretty much done with anyways, Cam came into the room. Not too far behind him came Ethan and Kira. "Dad, I did some research on their powers."

A few moments later, Kim and Aisha joined the group before last, Shane and Tori, who, had been reluctant to leave Dustin's side.

They sat around the table, waiting to hear what Cam had to say.

-

It was a good thing that the room the venoms were in was pretty well spaced. Hunter, Blake, and Adam had decided to go back a little further against the wall to give the two more room to duke it out.

After Conner had slammed into the wall, he quickly ducked from the oncoming punch. The duck sent him leaning slightly towards his right, which enabled him to pivot over and out of Jason's offense.

Conner then grabbed Jason's arm that had been extended, meant to connect with Conner's face, twisting it around, shoving Jason against the wall.

"Some leader you are." Conner smirked.

Hearing that only flared Jason's anger. He twisted his arm in an awkward manner, causing Conner to lose his grip. Jason then was able to use his free hand to grab onto the arm holding onto his, twisting it in the same way as Conner had just done.

"Don't kids like you learn anything?" He smirked this time, shoving Conner roughly.

Conner spun around, almost mimicking the fighting stance that Jason was already in. In his anger, he charged toward Jason. He faked a punch with his left arm while bringing his right quickly after which was blocked by Jason.

Jason then ducked Conner's third attempt at a punch, trying to roundhouse and trip Conner. Conner, expecting it, did a backwards flip to avoid being tripped again. He wouldn't let that happen for the second time.

He jumped into the air as Jason began to stand up, turning in the air to send a kick to Jason's chest. Jason, being older and wiser, caught Conner by his ankle, flipping him away. Conner landed roughly on his back, jumping back up too quickly for Jason to be able to hit him.

Jason and Conner went to kick the other at the same time, causing their shins to connect, pushing each other backwards.

They both stared each other down, trying to read what the other was planning on doing.

"This is boring." Hunter called to them, smirking at the anger and annoyance coming from the two. Blake and Adam just sat there, watching.

They ran at each other again. It was almost the same thing; punch, block, punch, stagger, block, kick, jump, block, kick, punch. They had been moving so fast that it was getting more difficult to follow each hit. They were pretty much turning into a huge, red blur.

Breaking apart, Conner was panting just slightly harder than Jason was. Jason, after all, had more experience than Conner did. Conner had a lot of stamina from playing soccer mostly all his life, but Jason still had him beat.

"Come on kid, is that all you got?" Jason taunted with a smirk on his face.

Conner growled, lurching forward at Jason, grabbing him by the shoulders. This forced them both to land on the table only to have it collapse underneath the force of the hit and their weight.

Conner had the upper hand, punching Jason squarely in his left eye. Jason, not taking that very well, reached up, grabbing Conner by his shoulders. He pulled him down, while bringing himself up. He connected his forehead roughly with Conner's face, forcing him to get off of Jason.

Jason rolled out of the way, jumping back to his feet. Conner had a hand covering his nose, knowing it was either cracked or broken, not too sure. Blood was flowing from it which pissed off Conner even more.

Jason's lip was busted and bruising was obvious near his eye but besides that, he was fine. Conner frowned, took a deep breath, then roughly pushed his nose to the right, a loud popping/cracking sound being ushered throughout the room. He had put his nose back in place.

"You guys shouldn't kill each other you know?" Adam said monotonously. He meant what he was saying but could careless.

"Not until the kid learns his lesson."

"I'm. Not. A. Kid!" Conner screamed, this time slightly cheating. Using his speed ability, he ran up behind Jason, bringing both of his clasped hands together, hitting Jason firmly in the back.

Jason spun around, clearly pissed off. "So we're going to cheat are we?" He laughed simply at the childish way Conner was presenting himself.

"Time to get serious, eh?" Jason closed his eyes for a second, centering himself. Or was he centering himself? It appears that Jason had been holding back slightly on his abilities.

He was channeling in more power. He opened his eyes, the crimson flashing with a tint of gold, almost.

He went towards an unexpecting Conner, shoving him roughly into a wall. He punched him three, or maybe four or five times in the abdomen before he could register what had happened. Conner grabbed his stomach, beginning to double over.

Jason took this opportunity to grab Conner by his hair and shoulder, throwing him across the room. Conner landed on his side, rolling over onto his back. Jason continued to laugh.

He walked over, kicking Conner roughly in the side, causing him to go back to a fetal like position. His body was hurting and, even though he was angry beyond belief, Jason was right at being the leader, no matter how big Conner's head was.

Before Jason could kick him again, Blake had jumped up, standing in front of Jason. "Stop. He's had enough."

Jason looked at Blake curiously. He hadn't noticed that Hunter and Adam had stood up as well, just hadn't moved.

"Why do you care? This runt needs to be taunt a lesson in where he stands." Jason said beginning to side step Blake only to be pushed back.

"I said. He's had enough." Blake said more firmly. He knew that Jason could probably kill Conner, he just hadn't realized it.

"You really want to get in the way?" Jason smirked, before punching Blake in the face, sending him backwards. By doing so, Blake had stumbled back towards Conner who was still lying on the ground. Blake tripped over the boy, sailing to the ground with a loud thump.

Then the fiasco was on, again. Hunter, angered by this for some reason he wasn't sure of, had slammed into Jason, sending them into the wall across the room, actually denting it. The walls were made of steel so one can only imagine how hard the force was.

Hunter had gone to slam Jason further into the wall and Jason had begun to barely even think of his plan to counter when Hunter was pulled off of Jason.

Jason took this as an opportunity to attack him but felt firm arms come over him as well. Adam had stepped in to stop him. Blake had been the one to pull Hunter off.

By this time, the bruising near Jason's eye had disappeared along with the busted lip. Conner's nose was only barely off a shade of his skin color since a broken bone was a little different than a mark. It didn't look like they had hit each other at all.

"ENOUGH!" An angry voice bellowed from the door. Zedd and Goldar, followed closely by Rita and Divatox had heard the commotion.

Hunter and Jason simultaneously shrugged off the guys that had separated them as Conner began to stand, knowing he had to put up a front for Zedd or else they'd all be screwed.

"You all act like a bunch of testosterone driven teenagers. It's disgusting." Rita snickered from behind the two men.

Jason stepped forward. "I apologize for our rough housing. We were just having a bit of fun, weren't we Conner?" Jason eyed the younger boy, his eyes showing the smug attitude.

Conner kept his eyes locked on Jason. "Yeah, just having some fun."

Zedd didn't believe them but didn't care either way. "Get ready to go down to Earth. We've got plans to put into work." The four left the room.

Conner let out a small gasp, barely audible. His side was aching. Sure, he could still function since the fire was able to block the pain, but this may have given him at least a little longer of an affect to get rid of." He sort of smiled to himself at the pain Conner was really in in his mind. If only the rest of them could hear his cries for help; the need to get free and get rid of the pain.

Blake had come to his side to help him stand, though he was reluctant of the help. Knowing he couldn't stand alone, he took it. He used Blake for support until he was able to sit down. "Way to break my body." Conner said aloud to Jason.

Jason was more focused on Hunter. The two were now on a stare down. It wasn't so much the same stare for power, but the stare for the true Alpha. Hunter had no intention of being the leader but what worried Jason was if Hunter was truly strong enough to take him. If he did, then he'd have no choice but to back down from his position which he would not do.

The worst part would be listening to Conner's endless comments if that were to happen. Jason stood his ground, wondering if Hunter was waiting for him to have his back turned. "Well?"

Hunter just stared at him. "Well?" He mocked.

"What are you waiting for?"

"You're not worth my time." Hunter said, walking swiftly out of the room.

Blake hesitated for a minute before meeting Adam's eyes that he would make sure Jason and Conner didn't get into another fight before he left.

He wanted to see why Hunter had reacted the way he did.

-

Well, I really hope the fighting sequence was alright. I think it was kind of bland but, I tried my best, really! Please leave me awesome reviews and I will update as soon as possible! Thanks loves!


	15. Awakening, Understanding, & Illusions

I'm so sorry for the long wait for this chapter! I've been finding it harder to figure out how this story is going to play out and just find myself sitting at the computer desk, unable to type anything because nothing is coming to mind! I'm trying hard, don't give up on me! Keep those reviews coming, the help a lot!

UPDATE! So, when I finally was going to post this, my power got knocked out by the hurricane. Here's a hint, I live in OHIO! Yeah. Crazy, right? So, my internet is offline right now, so I'll get this posted as soon as it gets turned back on. Sorry! Stupid hurricane.

Hell Is Back Awakening, Understanding, & Illusions

Chapter 15

"Dude, please don't be dead!" Dustin pleaded, on his knees before the lion.

The lion was curled up on it's side, his massive head covered by one of it's paws. There was a substance around it that looked like blood, though, it wasn't red but silver instead. Dustin had looked him over, seeing that there seemed to be no physical wound so why would it be bleeding? Was that even blood?

Dustin placed his hands on the lion, relief spreading all over him as he felt the warmth from the body and the slow, steady beating of a heart. He thanked the lord for that one.

"Uhh...lion? Leo? Sir?" Dustin wasn't sure what to call him. He never did give him his name.

Getting no response, Dustin frowned, nudging the lion with enough force to at least cause him to shift position. In an instant, Dustin went from kneeling over the lion, to sprawled onto his back, the lion appearing above Dustin.

"Dude! I'm here to help you help me!" Dustin told it, cringing underneath it, ready to be eaten. Dustin peeked open an eye, looking at the lion's face.

It looked angry for a minute but then resolved, only slightly. It looked like it was contemplating something on Dustin.

"Waldo, you are okay?" The lion said, moving off of Dustin, sitting back down.

"Uhm...yeah, I'm okay, I think? Are you?" Dustin asked, sitting up, panic beginning to settle.

The lion looked him over again, as if unsure it was really Dustin.

Dustin feeling uneasy, felt the need to add on, "And please, stop calling me that."

That seemed to settle the lion's confusion.

"It really is you. I wasn't in any position to duel with you again." The lion frowned, licking at one of it's paws.

"Duel with me? You mean, that evil me, hurt you?"

"It seems so. I did not know he was aware of my presence, that is why I would not come when you called, for worry of a trick."

That seemed to make enough sense. "Am I going to live?" Dustin asked, biting down lightly on his bottom lip.

The lion nodded. "Only if you want to. If you decide to go back to your physical world, you must be prepared for the after affects of the fire and venom powers. They took a lot of out you."

Dustin frowned. "So, that means a lot of pain, right?"

The lion simply looked at him, his eyes stating the obvious answer. "Fear not young one. You are strong enough to get through it."

Dustin stood up, looking over the lion again. "Are you okay? Seriously. I mean, you look like you were...bleeding?" Dustin questioned, looking again at the silvery substance. The lion followed his gaze.

"It is only what you perceive as blood. I have been damaged but I will be healed as you become healed." The lion answered him. Dustin assumed that he meant then that Dustin knew he was hurt and the affect of the blows the lion had taken would be the loss of blood in Dustin's world.

He nodded, believing him. "So, how do I, you know, go back?"

The lion looked at him, Dustin being sure it was a smile. "You've done your part in finding me and now I shall show you how."

Dustin frowned, wondering what treacherous thing he would have to do to get back.

"Just, wake up, _Dustin_."

-

"Like Cyber Cam had told us before, The Venom Rangers aren't kidding about their names. Each power contains that poison that that animal holds." Cam began as he waited for everyone to get settled. "I took a blood sample from Dustin and it appears that he's taken in some of the poison, but, since he was a barer of the power, it's not going to kill him like it would any one of us."

After the worried looks that came followed by a close sense of relief that it wouldn't kill him, he continued. "The poison merely has given him a sickness. If... when he wakes up, he'll have to fight the fever that came with being poisoned."

"So then does that mean everyone will be poisoned when we get them back?" Kira asked quietly, worried for their friends but mainly Conner.

Cam looked over at Kira, nodding lightly. "I'm afraid so, but we won't know for sure until we get someone else back. I do think that when the scorpion was shown, it being in it's true form, that it injecting Dustin would have been different."

Everyone, as he suspected, gave him curious looks. "You see, when any of us bond with our power, we work well with it. But, as most of us but the dino rangers know, once you release the power, you're normal again. The water you bonded with now could throw you around, just like you were normal again. Well, when Dustin lost the scorpion power, he no longer wielded it, thus it being just as dangerous to him as it already is to us."

That seemed to make more sense, thankfully. "Seeing how getting Dustin back happened, we can only assume that with the others, their animals will come back as well."

"So we just have to be ready to destroy it as soon as it's released." Tommy decided, the others agreeing.

"The one thing I'm mildly worried about is Hunter and Blake." At this, you can only imagine how quickly Tori's head snapped up.

"What? Why?" She asked immediately.

"You see, their animals, The Octopus and Chironex, or, Blowfish really, are water creatures. I'm not sure if using water against them is for better or for worse. I know the animals are only contained for their poison but it doesn't mean the water wouldn't plan an important role. It obviously can't be too much since fire is what's guiding them."

"So, do you think we shouldn't use the water against them?" Shane asked curiously. He wondered in the back of his mind how much Hunter would hate that his power was from a blowfish. Maybe, once all this has passed, they could go back to their teasings, the blowfish definitely being his best offense.

Anyways. "I think maybe, we should try it, at first anyways, to see if it has any effect on them, then go from there." Cam said, looking over at Tori since, well, she was the one who had the best chance to get to Blake.

"And what if it doesn't work?" Tori asked, knowing that everyone else was most likely thinking it.

Cam had no answer for her. He wasn't sure what their plan B would be. If they couldn't get them back, then, well, he couldn't think about what they would probably have to do.

"This has to work. We mainly have to get those necklaces off, right?" Ethan asked, saving Cam, if only a little.

"Yeah, those necklaces seem to have a connection with the power of the venom as well as the fire. It acts as a lock. I think that where ever these powers are from, these necklaces were created for evil. It knew that the powers weren't for good and you'd have to force someone to use it. Once connected, they couldn't get rid of the power no matter how badly they fought it." Cam finished with a heavy sigh.

Before Cam could finish, just stating they'd have to, once again, wait for the venoms to appear, a startling cry caused literally everyone in the room to jump.

There was only one person not present in the room. Tori, Shane, and Cam were the first to their feet, running towards the room. Followed closely behind by Kira and Ethan, Kim and Aisha, and Tommy and Sensei.

-

"Hunter! Hold on!" Blake called as he jogged down the corridor Hunter had previously walked down. Hunter was moving, that was certain.

Blake turned the corner, seeing Hunter standing near where his room was.

"What do you want?" Hunter asked coldly, not turning around to face the younger of the two.

"I just, wanted to see if everything was okay." This sparked curiosity in Hunter, causing him to turn around.

"What? Why do you care?" He asked immediately.

"I..I don't know, I just wanted to know."

"Right...you know, you've been acting differently lately." Hunter had noticed obviously. Blake was holding something back, he just didn't know why.

"What do you mean?"

"For one, you don't fight as hard anymore. Then you care so much all of a sudden. Did those rangers do something to you?" Hunter thought suddenly, anger flowing through him. Again, he didn't know why he'd be so mad that the rangers did something to Blake.

"What? No, of course not. And, you care too. You flipped out when I got hit." Blake defended.

Hunter looked him over a minute, analyzing what he had just said. "No, it was just getting annoying how he thinks he's the strongest." Though truly, and Hunter would be the last to admit to it, he had gotten pissed at seeing Blake got hit.

"Then why didn't you stop him when he tried to kill Conner?"

Getting no response, Blake looked at Hunter as Hunter stared at Blake. He was beginning to worry at what exactly was going through Hunter's mind.

"What?" Blake finally asked, feeling uneasy at the stare. It was getting unnerving.

"Why are your eyes different?" Hunter asked finally, quietly, confused, and angry all at the same time.

"What?" Blake repeated again, obviously confused at what he was getting at.

Hunter opened his room door, nodding for Blake to go inside, to take a look for himself. In each room was a small bathroom for them to clean up, obviously with a mirror.

Sure, it seems odd for villains to have showers but, they do keep clean thank you very much.

Blake walked by, tensing as he passed Hunter, going towards the mirror. Looking in the mirror, the evil part of Blake couldn't believe it. His eyes. They were no longer that crimson color. They were...brown.

"What the..." He whispered, getting closer to the mirror. Hunter's reflection spoke to him.

"You should tell Zedd. He can fix you. Don't tell me your host is too strong for you." He smirked, knowing that his host was too far to try and come back.

"No, not at all. I can't feel him." The evil Blake lied. He couldn't risk being caught as the weakest one. There was no way to fix this. He'd be destroyed.

The truth was, was that Blake was breaking out. The evil inside of him had vanished, pretty much. It was as if they switched roles. The only problem was that Blake couldn't control his body yet. He had most of his mind back, but when he was told to fight, he had to fight. He couldn't get rid of it all the way.

"Zedd should know." Hunter said again, crossing his arms.

"Are you going to run off and tell him?" Blake asked coldly.

Hunter growled quietly under his breath as he stalked off. Blake could only hope that that meant he wasn't going to be a 'rat'.

"VENOMS! Meet in the control room. Time to leave!" Goldar's voice rang over the intercom.

-

"I have the proper coordinates right, I just can't seem to get a lock on him!" alpha whined as his hundredth attempt at finding Zordon had failed. They were beginning to get desperate.

"It's okay. We're getting closer though, we've got to find him." Billy pressed, knowing they couldn't give up on their hope.

Haley was on the other side of Billy, looking over the many codes they had been trying to put in to get a lock onto Zordon. "Something, just, doesn't fit in these numbers." She said quietly, more to herself than anything.

Billy obviously, had heard her. "What? Where at?" He asked, moving closer to her to look over the figures.

"You see, in the twentieth, thirty-second through fifty-two, and one-hundred and seventeen rows, they're off from the rest of the rows. The numbers just aren't adding up equally. I think that might be part of the problem." She said, pointing at each of the rows she was talking about.

Billy, now joined by Alpha, looked over the numbers as well. "Ay yie yie! I think you're right!" Alpha said as he began punching in different numbers and letters.

Billy smiled as did Haley. "Great job!"

Haley simply kept her beaming smile. She had gone to the mouse on her laptop that she had brought only to be stopped. Billy had gone to do the same thing, his hand landing on the mouse first meaning Haley's hand being placed on top of his.

For only a few seconds, the two had looked at their hands then up at each other before equally jerking their hands away, along with looking away. They both blushed, a small smile on their faces.

Rocky, watching the whole scene take place, smirked before going outside once more. It was painfully obvious that he was bored out of his mind. He'd rather be fighting than just sitting here watching the brainiacs work.

Billy had suggested only minutes before that maybe Rocky should go back into town, to get them some food and other small supplies. He had agreed automatically.

-

Getting into town, Rocky stopped by the nearest convenient store. He grabbed them all plenty of food to last another few days. Deciding that the others wouldn't need him, or the food, for a few more hours, he went to the park.

He remembered all the many times he and his friends had fought the putties there. There were good memories there, of course, like the many times they played volleyball, or Frisbee, or even practiced some martial arts.

He had probably begun to day dream because he was then imagining the times he and Adam would go there to either talk, hang out, or even train a little. He remembered before they had decided to leave Angel Grove, well, before Rocky had anyways since he had passed on his powers earlier on, they had met one last time at this park.

Adam was dressed in his training outfit since he was on his way to go do just that. Rocky had to say goodbye, it being the hardest thing of all. At the time, they didn't know when they would see each other again.

As Rocky replayed the conversation in his mind, he blinked, figuring the image of Adam would go away.

It didn't. It kept coming closer. "Adam?" Rocky rubbed his eyes, swearing he was seeing his friend, walking towards him in the distance.

-

Cliffhanger-ish! Again, sorry for the long update & it sucks more that I'm typing this up and I have NO INTERNET! It sucks so bad man. I'm going to die soon if it doesn't turn back on!

Please review for me! I love it.


	16. Inner Strengths

Here's the next chapter in the slew of them I will be posting as soon as my internet decides to work again! That doesn't mean you shouldn't review, because, you totally should! Thanks guys

Hell Is Back

Chapter 16 Inner Strengths

The only difference between when Rocky and Adam were young and now, was that Adam looked different. He had short hair now but then he had had long hair. Also, he wore different clothes, not the ones that symbolized the venom rangers.

Rocky jumped up in a fighting stance, prepared to battle his friend as much as he didn't want to. Why was Adam here alone though, let alone, Angel Grove?

As Adam grew nearer, he raised his hands in a sign of truce or, giving up. Rocky eyed him curiously but didn't back down.

"Rocky, it's me." Adam said as he stopped walking. He was about six feet or so away from Rocky.

"Yeah, I'm sure."

"Well okay, it's not me exactly. I created an illusion so I could communicate with you." He said, dropping his arms to his sides.

"An illusion, what?" Rocky asked, his stance beginning to give a little.

"My body is up in that dreadful ship, but I was able to concentrate on meditating so I could get my mind and spirit down to Earth."

Rocky had, by now, let his guard down. He wanted to believe that what Adam was saying was true.

"If you don't believe me, go ahead, try and hit me." Adam smirked as he ran towards Rocky.

Rocky went to swing, to block Adam's hit, but it went through air. Adam was nothing more than an apparition, like he said.

"So it's really, er, you?" Rocky asked as Adam stood before him once more.

"Yeah, sort of." Adam smiled back.

"I'm not going to lie, I miss you man." Rocky told him, frowning at the memory of having to leave him.

"I miss you too. To say this is like hell would be an understatement." Adam told his friend.

"So, why are you here?" Rocky asked curiously.

"Besides having the ability to sort of, escape from there?" Adam joked lightly besides the situation.

Rocky laughed a little at it as well.

"I was hoping you guys knew of some way to get us out of here. They seemed to have been successful with Dustin." Adam informed Rocky, unsure if he had known yet or not.

"Yeah, they told me they've gotten a good lead on how to help you guys out. Is there no way for you to get free yourself?" Rocky asked.

Adam pointed to the pendant around his neck.

"These things seem to keep us from getting free. Believe me, I've already tried."

Rocky frowned. "And you can't just, yank it off?"

"It has some sort of block on it. Whatever they did to Dustin's must have worked. We all felt it when it was taken off of him. Even if I could get it off, this, evil, that's taken over, wouldn't allow it. He's still too strong."

Adam had been the same as Blake. He was slowly beginning to be able to get out of the trap but, the necklaces held them back. Adam kept quiet because, he didn't want to risk being caught.

"I don't think I have much time left, but, it seems that the harder the others fight their self internally, the weaker they become. I think that's why it's affecting Jason, Conner, and Hunter the most. They're not able to just concentrate. Those three are the ones the rangers are going to have to worry about the most." Adam began to be in sight barely, as if he were slowly drifting away.

"Adam, no, don't go yet!" Rocky said fiercely, wishing he could grab onto his friend to keep him there.

"I think I'm being woken up. Just, stay optimistic, you never were any good at that you know."

Rocky felt his eyes begin to water, hating this helpless feeling. "Adam, I swear to you I'm going to save you." He said as Adam nodded, disappearing.

-

When Tori, Shane, and Cam entered the room, they felt both relief and stress at the sight before them.

Dustin was awake, that was obvious. In his panic in waking up, he had fallen to the ground. His hands kept switching what to hold onto, for, his whole body was in pain. By the force of his jerking in pain, he had ripped open stitches that were placed in his side that formerly had been a pretty painful looking cut. The blood was soaking through the shirt he was wearing.

Shane, with Cam's help, moved carefully over to Dustin. "Dustin, you're safe now. You're going to be okay." Shane told him, trying to catch Dustin's line of vision.

His eyes looked clouded over, as if he was in a deep day dream. They were unfocused, minus whenever a spasm of pain would hit him. The two young men lifted up Dustin gently, holding him back onto the bed.

Sensei came around with a syringe, ready to sedate Dustin. Now they could get him medicine to fight off the fever.

"No!" Dustin yelled, eyeing the needle, seeing that it would be hurting him.

"It's okay, it's going to calm you down." Shane kept telling him, hoping he'd hear anything he was saying really.

Shane held Dustin's arm down firmly, allowing Sensei to puncture a vein, sending the sedative on its way. Dustin hissed at the pain of the needle, before slowly calming.

His eyes fluttered a few times before they finally shut. His breathing was still fast paced, but slowed quickly. Sensei took this opportunity to hook up an IV for medicine to go into Dustin. He also went to work on re-stitching his side.

"We must keep an eye on Dustin. We cannot let him remove himself from this bed again." Sensei told them, knowing that if he would be able to do it again, they may have to restrain him to the bed, which would cause him to panic more than likely.

"Is he going to be okay?" Tori whispered, knowing that she was on the brink of crying.

Sensei nodded his head. "Yes, he will be. The shock of the pain his body has taken has overwhelmed him. He just needs time to heal."

-

Not long after Dustin had woken up, the alarm had told them that the rangers were there. Looking at the location they decided to appear at, it looked like they were going to be high up on the cliffs. They must have figured being nearer towards the water was a bad idea. They wanted Tori away from her element.

The rangers hurriedly made their way to the location, starting in their usual stare down of their 'enemies'.

"You guys need to let us help you. This fighting is nonsense." Shane called to their former friends.

Hunter was the one who replied. "You destroyed Dustin. We felt it. How could we ever trust you?"

Shane shook his head. "We didn't destroy him. We got rid of that evil that's been tricking all of you. You've got to believe us.

"I'd rather be dead than believe you." Hunter called back, being the one to start the fight by lunging toward Shane.

With Dustin gone, Kim and Aisha helped Cam out against Adam. Kim would have been the first to help Tommy with Jason but, those two would forever be dueling and it was best to not be in the middle of that.

Kira and Ethan took their positions against Conner as Tori faced off against Blake. Unlike the other venoms, Tori was the one who was left standing, facing Blake.

"Blake? Are you, are you okay?" Tori asked, stepping cautiously closer to him.

He shook his head, glaring at her. "Stop messing with me! You're all evil."

"We're not evil. Zedd and his minions are the evil ones. They've hurt you guys. Rocky told us what happened to you and Hunter. You have to fight it." Tori told him as she closed the gap on them. They were now only a few feet apart.

Blake frowned. That memory. It was he and Hunter. They had gotten caught by...wait, no. That wasn't real! "AHH! You're putting illusions into my mind! You're a witch!" Blake shouted, going to hit her which she blocked.

Tori blocked his hit and next few blows, deciding to not fight back. She couldn't anymore. She couldn't hurt him. "Blake, it's me. Tori. You're my boyfriend. Have you forgotten?" She tried to get to him.

He shook his head again, stepping away from her. "You're lying!" He told her, that other memory, no, illusion popping briefly into his head of the two surfing.

Tori shook her head as well. "I'm not Blake. Please! Think!"

Blake did think for a moment. He needed to get the evil out but he hadn't the slightly clue how to do it. He couldn't do it alone. Glancing to the side, he noticed Hunter and Shane weren't too far away from ear shot.

He shoved Tori, making them go slightly farther away, a little nearer towards the edge of the cliff.

-

Kira and Ethan were starting to get a little bit of an upper hand on Conner. He seemed a lot slower this time which, they wouldn't complain. Kira noticed that whenever one of them would kick him in the chest, it seemed to do the most damage.

"Conner. Stop fighting us! You're hurt. Let us help you." Kira asked of him as she ducked from his sword.

"You're delusional. You killed our comrade and you think I'm going to listen to you."

"For the last time. We did not kill Dustin. He's okay." Ethan interjected as he blocked a punch, returning with one of his own which Conner blocked.

-

Adam was holding his own but it was getting slightly more difficult with the new three on one ordeal. He would block a kick from Kim only to come near a punch from Aisha that he'd have to dodge, to then settle for a kick from Cam. He was on the defensive but they weren't getting an upper hand. He was able to block everything.

He was sure he was close to getting close to figuring out exactly what had happened. He could subconsciously remember being in the chamber, and the scuffle, and they telling Rocky to run. To get help. This was the help; it was just hard to fight it.

He was not the one to be rescued now. Something in his mind told him he needed to stay on this side, for now. Maybe he would be able to find out what was going on on the ship.

Adam would continue with the front of being evil. He did have the evil still within him, but his power of the body, mind, and spirit was enough for him to get through it. He was stronger.

-

Tori flew a few more feet, landing roughly on her back. Blake landed on top of her, his sword dangerously close to her neck. He leaned in forward.

Instead of Tori hearing some sinister monologue before being killed, she watched his visor lift. She gasped at the sight. Those pained brown eyes. The dim hint of crimson behind them. "You've got to save me." He whispered.

Tori, keeping this seemingly charade kept her voice below a whisper. "What do I have to do?"

"Force me to demorph."

Nodding, Tori shoved Blake off who did a dramatic roll away from her, enough time for her to stand back up. Tori, reluctant as ever, went to attack him. She hit him in the chest, thigh, hip, shoulder, etc. He was letting her beat his body.

She grabbed her sword, wincing as she slashed him across the chest. He flew back, grabbing a hold of his chest. Against her better judgment, she ran up to him, stabbing the sword into the chest area. Obviously his uniform blocked it from cutting through to him but it caused enough damage.

Crying out in pain, it was enough to cause him to demorph. Blake rolled to his side, confusion hitting him. The anger of the evil was surging through him, unsure as to how or why Blake was getting what he wanted.

The body was hurt too much to morph again. Tori, knowing the amount of damage she could cause in her morphed form, demorphed as well. "Blake, fight it!"

By now, this had caught Hunter's attention. He saw that Blake, the boy he was confusingly caring towards, was now demorphed. "Blake! What are you doing?!" He yelled, beginning to go towards him.

Shane stepped in his way, blocking his path. "She's saving your brother, unlike you did!"

Low. Blow. Hunter eyed him furiously at that comment. There was no way the two were brothers. No way. Then again, why did he feel so strongly towards this guy? He loved him but not in a relationship way. He'd be the last to admit feelings like that. It was that love of family. No. They weren't related. It had to be a trick!

"Enough of the tricks!" Hunter bellowed. By this time, Kim and Aisha had joined Shane in an attempt to keep Hunter back. Cam could handle Adam who wasn't putting up much of a fight.

Cam and Adam were several yards away from the whole ordeal. "Why aren't you attacking me?" Cam asked suddenly.

Adam acted as if he hadn't heard anything. He kept facing towards the samurai, ready for him to attack. Cam hadn't realized until now that Adam hadn't tried to hit not one of them.

"You. You're like Blake aren't you? Your heart is too stro..." Cam quit talking, wondering if by saying all of this would enable the evil part to try and find a weak spot in Adam.

"We'll help you soon." Cam told him as they remained in their stances, neither one attacking.

"Ahh!" Blake yelled again as he grabbed onto his head.

"Blake, you've got to let me help you." Tori told him as she tried to approach him, only to be hit by a swift backhand.

Tori again, placed both of her index fingers together, beginning to form the water. She had almost gotten it started before Blake ran behind her, placing his hands against hers.

"You're not going to save him." The voice said in her ear. She gasped, again, forcing herself out of his grip. The evil was talking to her. It had the lead for now.

"I don't think so." She yelled at him, gathering the water much quicker. Before he was able to grab onto her, she grabbed the necklace with her hands. The water she had produced was coming off of her hands and onto the necklace. It looked as if it was slowly encircling the entire thing.

Pulling roughly, she was able to rip off the necklace. It disintegrated in her hands, leaving a burn on her hand that was momentarily forgotten.

Much like Dustin, Blake had backed up quite far, feeling the evil energies flowing out of him.

Black, Red, and a dull Navy colors of smoke had begun pouring out of Blake, though he didn't look as in much pain as Dustin had been. That may be because he was stronger of the mind and had long since taken some sort of control.

The pain was there, however. The burning. The cuts and bruises from the previous fighting's that occurred. When the colors had begun disappearing,

Blake, instead of falling, was continuing to walk backwards, trying to remove the morpher. It was as if it was stuck on. He felt the pain and stinging on his wrist.

Before he or Tori could register what had happened, he was gone.

Hunter yelled, forcing himself through the three.

Blake's morpher had given him a firm yank, causing him to fall off the edge of the cliff.

Tori, jumped over it after him.

-

AH! Haha. Not much of a cliffhanger.

I hope these chapters aren't getting too dull or anything, it's just getting difficult to figure out how to do this! I mean, it's got to be different and not rhetorical.

If anyone has any sweet, possible plots on anything. How to bring anyone back, if anyone should come back or stay, or what Zedd's plotting, or how will Zordon help, that'd be awesome!

I mean, I've got lots of possibilities, I just don't know which one would be the best!

If not, just leave me an awesome review anyways! Thanks guys


	17. Breathe, Wake, Aware

I'm so sorry it's taken me so long to update! College finally started and I've been swamped with work! I'm taking four classes, two of which are online and they have a lot more work to turn in along with my two campus classes which just suck! Also, with work and trying to have a social life, it's getting hectic!

I also would have liked more than six reviews for those two chapters, but, oh well. Hopefully I'll get more this time! I think you guys have been in suspense long enough, after all.

Hell Is Back

Chapter 17 Breathe, Wake, Aware

"BLAKE!"

"TORI!"

The names echoed through Hunter and Shane as they watched horrified. One minute, their comrades were there, the next, they were gone.

Momentarily forgetting their enemies, the venom rangers and the rest of the rangers ran to the edge of the cliff, seeing if the two could be see. Hunter had been the first to get to the edge since he had already been moving towards that direction.

All the rangers, good and bad, stood side by side, all staring down in the shallow depths of the ocean against the cliff side, near the rocks, waiting to see blood. No one was able to see anything. It was as if they had disappeared.

A growling like sound suddenly emitted, causing everyone to turn and look in surprise. Hunter was beyond fuming. There were no words to describe the depth of anger he was feeling.

"YOU! You let this happen!" Hunter bellowed, shoving Shane roughly.

"Me? If you weren't such a blind idiot, you wouldn't have been tricked by the bad guys. Again!" Shane argued back, his own anger at Tori falling beginning to amplify.

The other rangers, good and bad, moved away from each other, but watched the fight before them. They were still quite aware of the others but didn't make a move to fight again.

You could almost see a red aura around Hunter at the amount of his pain and anger.

"You're the blind ones! All of you! If you just joined us. Then no one would have gotten killed!" Hunter, in the back of his mind, wondered why he was so upset over Blake. Sure, he felt for Dustin but, Blake. Blake was different.

The true Hunter, buried deep inside himself was over himself in grief. His baby brother was dead? He couldn't be.

On the outside, the fury reigned on. Before Hunter got to strike Shane again, all venoms grasped at their necks, wincing in pain. The pain. It meant the morpher. It had been destroyed.

"ARGH!" Hunter yelled as he stood up past the pain, going to strike Shake with his staff. As he swung it high into the air, Shane wouldn't have had a chance.

Lucky for Shane, Hunter and the rest of the venoms disappeared. The rangers stood in surprise, though, not as much anymore. It seemed that every time something bad happened to them, they'd get all beamed away.

Shane automatically powered down, moving back to the edge of the cliff. "They, they can't be gone. On his right side, he was joined by Cam. A light touch of his arm on the other side showed Kira who was trying to give him support.

Shane and Cam both felt the tears well up in their eyes. Tori couldn't be dead. She, she couldn't. Kira and Tori had often made time to hang out and she was probably the next closest person to her. She felt the remorse begin to hit her.

Kim and Aisha naturally were very visibly upset. Ethan was sad; knowing that there was equally no way for her or Blake to be gone. Tommy looked down in sadness, his face strong, not willing to break. Not now. They were too young. He narrowed his eyes, looking down into the water.

"We better get back to Sensei." Cam whispered quietly, not wanting to leave. He couldn't just leave Tori and Blake. They needed to...find their bodies.

At first, it didn't look like Shane had comprehended exactly what Cam had said. Slowly, but surely, he shown signs of hearing him, beginning to turn around, his eyes not wanting to be torn away from the water below them.

The others followed suit, turning slowly, knowing they needed to get back. As they began to make their way back, Kim noticed someone was missing. She stopped walking, turning around. "Tommy? Are you coming?"

She asked seeing as he hadn't moved. Confused, she came closer to him. "Tommy?"

He didn't look at her, instead, his eyes were trained onto something else. "Wait! Guys, look!" He said quickly, yelling to get the others attention to what he was seeing. Kim followed his gaze, her eyes widening in surprise.

-

Opening his eyes for the first time, he couldn't say it was that great. Dustin knew he was laying on some sort of bed. He felt a few things pricking him in his arm and he turned his head carefully, eyeing some sort of syringe. He looked away, definitely not liking that. What was it for?

Looking down, he saw he was wearing a ninja warm up outfit. He never remembered changing clothes. He wondered why his head was hurting along with any sudden movement of his body.

Looking over, he visibly jumped noticing someone was in the room with him. "Se.." He began to talk only to hear how raspy and dry his voice was.

"You must rest Dustin. You've been through much." Sensei said, moving towards the younger man. He produced a water bottle in front of Dustin, unscrewing the cap and lifting the bottle gently to Dustin's lips. He eagerly opened his mouth to take as many gulps of the water as he could. Sensei would move it away just enough so Dustin could swallow the first gulp before getting another. The last thing he needed was to choke himself.

Dustin closed his eyes before opening them up again. "Sensai?" He whispered, realizing that it was easier on him to whisper.

"Yes my son?"

"What...what happened?"

Sensai looked at him curiously, sadness washing over him. "What do you remember?"

Dustin closed his eyes again for a somewhat long while though Sensei was patient. He waited beside Dustin to hear what he would tell him.

"I remember walking out of the cave. Then...I.. Blake, and Hunter. They...took me somewhere. The heat. Sensei, it was so hot. It's still hot." Dustin told him, his eyes still closed. He gestured with his hand to his chest for emphasis.

"Then...it's so fuzzy. But, why didn't they listen to me?"

"What do you mean? Who didn't listen to you?"

"Everyone. Tori. Shane, Cam. The others. I pleaded for them to help me. To make it stop but, they all attacked me. They continued to hurt me." Dustin said his voice more quiet now. His voice was etched with pain. His eyes began to water from the memories.

Dustin opened his eyes which forced a tear to slide down his cheek. Sensei looked over Dustin, shocked at what he was saying.

"There is much to inform you on." Sensei sighed, taking a seat next to Dustin. It wasn't a sigh of irritation, it was a sigh of sadness to let Dustin know what had become of himself.

Sensei let Dustin know what he was placed in. What the heat was. He then went on about the venom rangers abilities and that he had been forced to be evil. He had been fighting them the whole time and that they had no chance but to fight back. It was Tori and Shane who was able to free him of the scorpion power.

"It takes the power of the mind to release the evil but an even greater power to release the pendants. We've found that Tori's pure spirit and her water ability fight back well against the pendants, enabling her to remove them" He finished, letting Dustin take it all in.

"The, lion. I think, he was there?" Dustin told Sensei, remembering seeing the lion a few times. He knew he had talked to him a little bit.

"You are correct. I believe our animal spirits help guide us towards the light and away from the darkness." Sensei had no doubt that the lion helped Dustin get away from the evil that plagued him.

"But they still hurt me. I remember asking for them to stop. I hurt everywhere. They just kept hitting me." Dustin frowned, his gaze on a random thread in the blanket that was covering him.

Sensei placed his hand lightly on Dustin's shoulder which in turn caused him to involuntarily flinch away. "While you were trapped in your mind, anything you said was not heard. It's a very well good chance that the evil containing you brought you out just so you could feel the physical pain more. That you would be aware of the contact."

Dustin frowned, wishing he could remember more. More about the ship that he had been on, about anything.

"You will be alright Dustin. You're strong. You must get some rest. Your body has gotten sick from the venom powers. You'll be fine, you just have to get past it." Sensei told him, moving near the syringe. He grabbed a new one, replacing it with the old one in his arm.

Dustin let his eyes close. Before he could even mull over everything that Sensei had told him, he felt the sleepiness fall upon him.

-

"Ninja Storm, Ranger Form, HA! Power of water!"

That whole statement had been rushed but was literate enough to work. As Tori had fallen over the cliff, she called upon her power, knowing she'd never survive the fall without it.

Thankfully, she formed quickly and was able to use the weight of the uniform to help her fall a little faster. She was worried for Blake who looked almost unconscious. He'd definitely die if she couldn't get to him.

She pressed on, trying to move quicker. Inches, only inches away from grabbing on him. Tori gasped, knowing she would never be able to grab him.

Focusing on the water below them, she forced the water to move up, almost to catch Blake and herself. That way there'd be some water to stop them from directly hitting the rocks. She would have to move quickly once they hit the water.

Another gasp and she was aware that Blake was looking at her. Pain and fear evident in his eyes. He knew they were falling. He probably figured they could die. He was probably right.

"Hold your breath!" Tori yelled to him. Within another second, Blake, then Tori, was engulfed in the water.

She felt the water hit her though it didn't hurt, thankfully for her suit. She plunged quicker, being able to grab Blake, moving them safely away from the rocks. She was able to use the water as boosters, if you will, moving her away towards the middle of the ocean. They were parallel from where the danger was which was good.

If the danger was over, that is.

Feeling another jerk, Tori looked at Blake who was looking at his wrist. It looked like it was glowing blue in the water. Blake fidgeted with the lock, being able to release it from his wrist.

Tori began to move towards the surface, pulling Blake with her. They broke the surface within another few seconds, gasping for air. Well, mostly Blake was.

Blake smiled but wasn't able to say anything for he had been pulled under the water. Tori gasped for the third time in this whole one minute long scene, diving under to see what happened.

Blake had a water power. Well the fire controlled him but the water was apart of his venom power. Blue ringed Octopus! It had attacked him!

Tori saw with horror the giant octopus, one of it's tentacles wrapped around Blake's ankle. He tried to swim away but it was strong compared to Blake's weakened body.

She kept up with them, building momentum since water was her element. She came closer, grabbing onto Blake's wrist, therefore being pulled along. She tugged back, knowing that Blake would soon run out of air.

Blake kicked fiercely at the octopus, it releasing his ankle. It looked as if it was ready to strike, possibly poisoning him. Tori moved closer, using a blast of water to hit the octopus, projecting it farther away from them. She then used a beam of water to hit the octopus in its body, It looked quite damaged, trudging away in to the dark depths of the ocean. Tori would have been more happy to celebrate except for the fact it seemed that Blake was unconscious now.

Panic setting in, Tori grabbed Blake, using her water to blast her towards the surface again. Once hitting it, she saw no response from Blake. "Hold on!"

She used her power to push her through the water at an abnormally fast rate. It was sort of like ninja streak except much cooler since she could go through the water.

Once she got to the shore, it getting to be able waist deep, she demorphed, pulling Blake along.

She brought him up to where the water just hit the sand, laying him on his back. She bent down, turning her face to stare at his chest, looking for the rising and falling as well as trying to feel his breathing hit her cheek.

"No. Blake! Come on!" Tori said to him, seeing that he wasn't breathing. Tori was trained in CPR and basic medical training so she quickly began CPR.

She tilted his head back and began pumping his chest with her hands as quickly as possible as the tears fell from her eyes. She couldn't cry now. Not yet.

"fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen.." She said rapidly with each pulse. Tori then plugged his nose, opened his mouth and blew in a full breath of air. Nothing.

She repeated the process. Nothing.

By the middle of her third attempt, the others had gotten down from the top of the cliff to stand before her, watching in horror and anticipation.

Nothing.

Tori blinked back the tears and forced the sobs to halt. He couldn't be dead. After everything he just went through. Drowning couldn't take him away.

"Tori..." Shane began, taking a step closer.

"NO!" She snapped at him, beginning to try again. She wouldn't give up on Blake. She never had and never would.

-

"You fools! How you fail me every time! They're picking you all off one by one!" Zedd yelled angrily,

Hunter, Jason, Conner, and Adam were down on one knee, listening obediently to their angry Lord. Hunter was still fuming but couldn't be very verbal about it. He didn't quite understand himself why he was so mad.

"You all are a nuisance. If this happens again, mark my words, I'll dispose of you myself!" Zedd stormed out of the room followed closely behind by Goldar.

The boys slowly got up, none wanting to speak. They were upset that they had lost two members so soon. They were a team.

"We've got to get the upper hand on Zedd before he does it to us." Adam said, breaking the silence. The other three glared at him.

"What?" Conner asked dully.

"Zedd doesn't care to have us or not. You heard him. We cannot let him have that ability to 'dispose' of us at will."

"Adam's right. Zedd is strong but we are far more capable at taking care of them. They're washed up villains." Jason agreed, feeling that that statement had more to it than that. He felt like he had seen those 'monsters' before.

Adam wanted badly to comment on that but knew it was smarter to remain quiet. He didn't want them to question his ability on fighting the rangers.

"And how do you propose we do that?" Conner asked almost mockingly at Jason, the big bad leader.

Jason glared but ignored him. "We need to find out how he has some leverage over us. Once we get it out of the way, we take over."

Adam looked over at Hunter who hadn't said a word. From the looks of it, he wasn't going to either. He looked lost in his own thoughts. He wondered if Hunter was breaking through this curse, as it were. His eyes were boiling crimson though. There was no way.

He then realized something. All the anger. The evil in him was most likely feeding off the anger Hunter seemed to hold onto. He knew that Hunter proved to be difficult in saving. All the grief and sadness was only fueling his hold on the boy.

"Well?"

Adam snapped out of his thoughts, looking up towards Jason.

"What?"

Jason sighed, annoyed. "We're going to go on turns on keeping an eye out for anything that seems too suspicious."

"That's so stupid. This is an evil alien ship. Everything is going to look suspicious."

Before Jason could step forward to attack Conner who had quite the smirk on his face, Adam stepped in his way.

"Don't piss off Zedd more than he already is by killing off Conner."

-

Well, it's not much, but I hope it's good enough for an update! Really guys, please send me some reviews on how I'm doing.

I can take the good and the bad! As long as I have some sort of feeback!

Until next time!


	18. Friendship Renewed

-1Oh my goodness, how the month flew by! I am so sorry about how long it's been since I last updated! It literally has been a little over a month. My muse just sort of died and then I got so busy with school, work, and Halloween, that I completely forgot. I've been thinking of lots of scenarios of how this chapter should go and I think I've finally gotten it.

Also. I'm almost thinking of making this a two part story. I feel like it has so much to offer that I could sort of end the story in a few chapters with a massive cliffhanger. Though, I don't know if, once I get towards the end, if I want to cause it to be continued or just end it. I guess we'll see, eh?

Last, a few of you have asked where Trent is and, as I've sort of mentioned before, because I didn't watch enough Dino Thunder, I'm going on him not really, well, existing, I guess? I don't know his character so it's hard to write him. Hope you understand!

Hell Is Back

Chapter 18 Friendships Renewed

Two more tries later, and Tori was sobbing. This couldn't happen. She blew another final blow into Blake's mouth, feeling defeated. She fell into Blake's chest, tears streaming like a river down her face.

The group surrounding them all had about the same facial expression, mostly. The men held stern looks though their watering eyes shown their true feelings. The girls had tears running down their faces quietly.

Tori began to hyperventilate. She knew it was coming. Her tears and overwhelming sadness was going to be too much before. She thought she felt her body begin to shake quite violently, startling her. That's when she realized, it was her that was moving.

Tori rose up too quickly to be normal, eying Blake. His stomach had began almost spazing. Seconds later, he turned his head, water spewing everywhere. His stomach had gotten upset from the sudden urge of air into his lungs that, it had caused him to forcibly vomit. Blake moved to his side, coughing freely.

"Tor...?" He looked up, obviously dazed after the coughing ceased, for the most part anyway.

"Blake, oh thank god." She cried more, grabbing him in an intense hug. You could see the endorphins throughout her body language. She had saved his life. It was a miracle.

"Can you stand?" Shane asked, surprising Tori at how close he was to the two of them. Blake looked up, noticing finally that there was a large group near him and that Shane had teary eyes and that Tori was crying.

"What? Uhhm, yeah, maybe?" He wasn't really sure to be honest. Tori stood up, and with Shane's help on the other side, the helped Blake to his feet. Letting him go, it was too obvious that he couldn't walk on his own so Shane lassoed his arm around Blake's waist.

"We should get back to Sensei." Cam declared, a bright smile on his face.

"And you guys can tell me what happened." Blake said, looking tiredly over at Tori.

-

Dustin woke up with a start, realizing he was having a nightmare. He kept his eyes closed as he pinched the bridge of his nose, a migraine definitely coming on.

His senses beginning to work again, he froze, knowing there was someone else in the room with him. He tensed, opening an eye. A frown followed instantly as he sat up, wincing as his body wasn't ready for the move.

"Blake?" His friend was asleep on a bed before him. He looked injured, just not as much as he was. He figured they probably didn't beat him. They respected Blake a lot. They hardly ever respected Dustin.

He shook the thought away. No. They liked him just as much as they liked Blake. Blake was probably stronger and was able to fight back easier. Dustin was just weak. That had to be it.

Jumping at a sound, he looked over at the door, seeing Tori standing there. She gave him a smile as she ran over to him. She hugged him tightly, forcing a gasp to escape involuntarily from his lips.

"Oh Dustin, I'm sorry, I'm just so happy you're okay." She said to him as she let go of him. He bit his lip, not wanting his insecurities to show. He didn't want anyone to know how afraid he was of them. He wanted to trust them, it was just his memories proved different.

"How's Blake?" He asked, trying to get the conversation away from him.

She looked over before moving to Blake's bed, sitting on the side of. Tori placed her hand lightly on the side of his face. "I think he's going to be okay. It was scary for a minute." She would let someone else fill Dustin in on exactly what had happened.

"How's Hunter taking this?" Dustin asked, surprised the older brother wasn't in the room. It was rare for Hunter to not be at Blake's side.

Tori looked down before looking over at Dustin. "You really don't remember much, do you?" She asked sadly, knowing it was going to be difficult to help Dustin.

He shook his head, not being able to hold eye contact. "No, I don't. I assumed, that.... never mind." He assumed that everyone had been saved when he was. Maybe not.

"They've still got him, and the others, but, it's not over yet." She was determined to get Hunter back for Blake. The others were just as important. They were deeply missed by the rest of the people here. Her and Kira were close and she knew how much Kira missed Conner.

A soft moan was heard, as if on cue, and Tori and Dustin looked over to see Blake awakening. He opened his eyes slowly, seeing Tori.

"I wouldn't mind waking up to that face every day." He smiled, reaching up to Tori. She let his hand rest on her cheek like she had done moments before to him. She placed her hand on top of his, a smile going on both faces. Even Dustin couldn't help but give a small smile.

"Dustin, bro, you're...you're alive." Blake looked shocked as he saw him sitting there. "We thought...." He let his sentence fade. They had all felt the same pain, the pain of loss. They thought Dustin had been killed.

"Nope, I'm alive and...alive." He wasn't well, so he wouldn't lie, though he wouldn't tell the truth either.

"That's good." Blake smiled, his fist pushing out towards Dustin. Dustin, knowing what the hand gesture meant, put his hand into a fist, connecting it with Blake's.

By this time, Sensei, Shane, and Cam had also joined the group. Everyone greeted each other, glad that Dustin wasn't panicking and that Blake seemed fine.

"Do you remember anything?" Cam asked Blake. They had gone through this with Dustin, knowing it was mostly fuzzy.

"A lot actually. It was like when Lothor had us under a spell. I could see what was happening but I couldn't stop it. It was as if I wasn't in control. But, just like then, I started to have memories hit me and it was easier to break free." He glanced at Tori with that last sentence, knowing that his feelings for her were so strong that they helped guide him to be free.

A sudden thought then popped in his head. He sat up, looking around the room. "Hunter? He's here too, right?" Blake asked hopeful, becoming slightly worried now.

With no one answering him, he looked down at the sheet covering him. "You didn't, did you?" It was a rhetorical question.

"We'll get him back, we will. I promise." Shane said as he came forward. They had to get him.

"Even though we were under that spell, he was still protecting me." He remembered when Hunter attacked Jason. Blake then remembered something else.

"Hunter! Before, he and I got taken, he was injured. Something pierced into him...he was hurt." He remembered it was again, because Hunter was protecting him. Again. He sighed, hoping his brother was doing okay.

They all looked at him, slightly confused. Shane looked more irritated really. "He seemed fine." He was Hunter's friend, that was true, they were just so competitive, not to mention so far every time Hunter seemed to have the upper hand.

"We should let you two get some more rest." Sensei told the group, Blake nodding while Dustin had already pretended to be asleep.

Dustin was, once again, lost in his own thoughts. Sure everyone was his friend and there to help him, it was just, the majority of what he could remember was him screaming at them to stop hurting him, but, they wouldn't. He couldn't seem to get those images out of his head. The pain.

How come Blake wasn't hurt as much as he was? Dustin figured he'd be able to get up the next time he woke up, but, it seemed that Blake would too. He hardly had a scratch on him. Dustin had seen his chest and all the bruises that had formed. They hurt a little but not as much as the memories.

It wasn't fair.

-

"Someone else can go on watch, I'm sick of watching Zedd sleep." Conner announced to the group as he came back from his round of spying. They all had taken four hour checks to keep an eye on things going on on the ship.

"You've only been going for twenty minutes." Jason said as he looked up to him dully.

"Yeah and? He's sleeping. Not much to watch."

"Or he's on to us and it's a diversion to get you away."

Conner glared at him, realizing he hadn't really thought of that. He sighed, storming back out of the room.

"Do you really think we should overpower Zedd?" Adam asked Jason who was fuming about Conner. They couldn't say two words to the other without arguing.

"I think when the time is right, we should. As we've talked about, he has some sort of leverage on us." Jason reasoned, looking briefly over at Hunter who had yet to say a word.

Adam sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "That's it. I know what it is."

Jason looked at him curiously. Adam always did have a knack for epiphanies. He looked at him, waiting for the answer.

"I don't know why we hadn't thought of it before, these, charms. They're the ones controlling us." He reached down at his charm around his neck.

Jason and even Hunter were both touching theirs unconsciously. Jason jerked on his, nothing happening. "What the..."

"See? They won't come off." Adam frowned as he tugged on his as well. When they were first put on them, they were clasped on, but, there was no clasp to take them off.

"How do we get them off?" Jason asked, giving up on tugging on his. Hunter seemed to still be trying.

"I'm not sure. It was Rita who gave us these, she must know." Adam offered, not sure how they would get her to remove them. The rangers seemed to know the secret but he couldn't admit to Jason and Hunter that it would be a good idea to get their help. Adam knew that they would be helpful because they were the good guys.

-

Conner stormed off around a corridor, about to start spying again. He was beginning to get fed up with constantly being told what to do. He hated when people did that. He was a leader.

He walked near Zedd's sleeping chamber, stopping. He backtracked a few steps, peeking in. Zedd wasn't sleeping. He was annoyed that, once again, Jason was right.

"Shit." He muttered as he began walking quickly around the ship. He walked into the main chamber, seeing a dull light and some voices coming from another room. He walked over by it, deciding to use his speed, if needed, to leave.

He peered into the room with one eye, listening intently.

"I don't think Mailgore's power is as strong anymore. The last one was already wearing off the side effects. I believe there is one among them now who has changed back." The voice of Divatox was saying quickly and angrily.

"That's not possible. The charms. The morphers. They're strong as well." Rita argued.

"Yeah, but their minds, they're too strong. The other three, I think they are too weak minded to wear off the power alone." Divatox replied.

"Yes, especially the one. He's special. His anger exceeds normality."

"That's true. I think he'll be very valuable to us."

"You two are certain one of them is normal?" A male voice, Conner recognizing as Zedd's asked.

"I think so. His energy level is almost that of a normal human's again."

"Either you think or you know. Which is it?"

"I know."

"Very well, we'll have him taken care of." Zedd looked up at the door, catching Conner's eye. It spooked him, causing him to run back to the others.

"I..I don't know if he saw me, but, Zedd saw me." Obviously the statement made no sense.

"Oh and, I think he's going to destroy the traitor among us." All four pairs of eyes looked around the room, trying to figure out who it was.

-

Ew, this is definitely not my best work...I don't really like this chapter. I'm going to say it's just another filler. Hopefully once I get the next chapter out, I'll get more muse to finish this story!

Please review whether you like it or not! Thanks!


	19. Technicalities

YAY! I was so happy to see my faithful reviewers! I also noticed lots of story alerts which made me happy, I just hope those of you will decide to review for me! Those seriously, keep me going!

I hope this chapter will be okay! So, without further waiting, here you are!

Hell Is Back

Chapter 19

"I feel like I haven't eaten in a year." Blake muttered as he stuffed his face with his third helping of pasta. The group had decided that there was call for a small celebration since two of their friends were back safe.

Dustin sat beside him, eating a little, not feeling too hungry. He kept a cheery face on himself, though, his eyes would reveal the truth. He was still hurting. He could deal with the physical pain but, something had messed him up. He was afraid of his friends even if he thought that was ridiculous.

At the table was Sensei, Tori, Shane, Cam, Kira, and Ethan. Tommy had been bonding with his former teammates so Kira and Ethan decided to stay closer to the Ninja Storm rangers. They didn't mind; Tommy deserved to see his former comrades.

"Who should we try and help next time?" Tori asked as she cut her garlic bread with a knife.

"Hunter." Blake said almost right away. No one questioned why he would propose to save him. It was his brother.

"I'm not so sure that is the best direction to go right now." Sensei replied to Blake sadly. "Hunter is very strong. He may be the strongest asset to them. We need the others to ban together to get him back safely." He had felt that Hunter would need the strongest of them all to bring down. They needed Jason and Conner to help.

"Wouldn't it make sense then to bring him back before, he gets worse." At this statement, the table looked at him slightly confused. Blake noticed this, swallowing the food in his mouth. "I noticed a few times...his anger. Whatever that lava? was. It's feeding on his temper." He frowned, biting down on his lip lightly. He knew Hunter had a bad temper but that evil was making it worse.

Sensei shook his head. "It may seem that way but, it'll take more that all of us to save him."

Cam decided it was time to add on. "I did some research on the Venom Ranger powers. They also are strong with their bond. It makes them strong together. Two of them gone is one thing...but if there's only one remaining, then Hunter won't have a ranger power strong enough to match against all of ours." That was mostly the theory anyways. It had seemed that without Dustin's power, that they weren't as strong as the first time they had to fight them.

Cam wasn't going to let them know he knew Adam was on their side. Not yet. He couldn't risk them being safer against him, revealing him.

Blake nodded his head solemnly, knowing that they were right. He just hoped that Hunter would be able to break free. Though, he was always weak minded, even if he hated to admit that about his brother. Blake was normally the logical one.

"Don't worry, we'll get him back. We'll get them all back." Shane inquired as he looked over at Dustin. "Hey, are you alright?"

Dustin looked up, realizing all eyes were on him, causing him to involuntarily blush a little. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little...tired."

He knew his lie was seen through by Shane. Shane was his best friend; he could smell a lie a mile away when it came to Dustin. Shane gave him a look, meaning that they would talk later.

-

At a cafe not too far from Ninja Ops, Kim, Aisha, and Tommy decided to grab some coffee. The three had been closer than ever, especially without Adam, Jason, Billy, or Rocky. It seemed weird without those four.

"Do you think they're okay?" Kim asked as she looked down at her coffee.

"Jason and Adam are tough. They'll make it." Aisha comforted her. It was true. They were.

Tommy just hated this whole situation. "Rocky should be contacting me later with an update. I just hope it'll be good news."

Kim and Aisha knew that they were on a mission, but, had yet to know what it was. They gave him a curious look, causing him to break into a small smile.

"They're in Angel Grove. Sensei believes they may be able to find Zordon." Kim's jaw dropped and Aisha gasped.

"What? But how, that's...that's impossible." Kim stuttered, she and Aisha now fully aware of the conversation.

"He believes that Zordon was never destroyed, that, he's just missing." Tommy wasn't quite sure how to explain it, knowing this was a perfect time for Billy to break out into the technical explanation.

After a moment of silence, Aisha nodded. "That would make sense. He would be able to bring them back."

"And who else but Billy to find Zordon."

"And Haley." Tommy added, knowing they didn't know quite how intelligent the female was. As if on cue, Tommy's pocket vibrated. Yes, they had upgraded into using cell phones instead of communicators, especially in public.

-

Billy, Haley, and Alpha had gone over countless numbers and figures and expressions, trying to figure out how to bring Zordon back. They had the basic idea set out. An idea so complicated that one, minus those three, could explain.

Rocky was going stir crazy with boredom. He couldn't really help since he wasn't a master genius and was getting bored with having his powers yet unable to fight again. He had missed being a power ranger, that was sure. It took a while to not constantly worry if the world was in any sort of danger.

Knowing that those powers and responsibilities were back, it was hard not to want to go out there.

He had been sitting outside on a rock, staring at the horizon area, dully. He kept thinking about his last encounter with Adam. What was happening? Was Adam okay? Had he been found out yet? He was hoping to get a call from Tommy telling him that they got Adam back.

"Rocky! Come inside!" Billy's voice called loudly, Rocky almost jumping at the suddenly disruption of the quiet. He sat up, walking into the commandenter.

"Yea..." Rocky didn't finish, seeing what Billy was going to tell him. "Zordon?" He asked, staring at the all too familiar face.

"Rocky DeSantos, it has been years." The voice bellowed down to him. He always felt so small compared to Zordon. He looked over at Billy who had his arm over Haley's shoulders, and Alpha, looking giddy as ever.

"I can't believe it's actually you." Rocky replied, in disbelief. He never thought he would get a chance at seeing someone he saw as a mentor when he was younger.

"I did not think there would be ever be a I'd be graced to see my Earth companions again." He looked down at Billy, smiling. "Then again, Earth does have Billy." Billy blushed simply. "Thank you to you both and Alpha, old friend."

By this time, Rocky had the phone to his ear, speed dial already calling Tommy. He had to tell him. He just couldn't contain the news. "Tommy! You won't believe it!"

"Is he?"

"Yes! Billy and Haley, I...I don't know how, but they brought him back!"

"I can't ...that's incredible! I'll let everyone know."

"Make sure you do."

"Oh, and Rocky?"

"Yes?"

"We got Blake back as well." Tommy had informed Rocky and the others about Dustin the day they had gotten him. The hung up, not ones to keep a conversation going very often over a phone.

"Zordon, can you help us?" Rocky asked, stuffing his cell phone into his pocket.

"That's where there's a problem." Billy answered, knowing Zordon didn't need to. Rocky simply looked at him, confused, waiting for an explanation.

"You see..." Haley pitched it. "We were able to get his, er, physical, form back but we still haven't connected him fully to our systems. There's an error in the coding system and we've got to find it."

"Is it going to be hard to find it?"

"Well, the code is, rather large. The memory is so massive in size, that it takes up three of the computer systems." Which these computers were so technologically advanced, that a normal computer that could hold thousands of gigs were too small with these.

"How long is it going to take?"

"It could take months, but, we're hoping a week since we're all going to keep tracking it." Billy hoped that with him, Haley, and Alpha all searching for the missing link or error, that they could find it quicker. They weren't just normal brainiacs after all.

"Do not worry. You must have faith in them." Zordon replied, however he sounded rather glum.

"I do Zordon, I do."

"That's a shame, being as we're going to destroy this place once and for all." A snared voice said behind them. Billy and Rocky instantly piveted, waiting in a fighting stance.

Standing near the door was a young man in a red uniform and a familiar face in black.

"Adam!"

"Conner!" Billy and Rocky both glanced at Haley who had recognized the other boy.

Conner's eyes strayed past Billy and over at Haley. "Aw, aren't we the cute nerdy couple."

"Conner, stop this. You're not yourself." Haley reasoned, staying behind Billy nonetheless.

"No, I'm exactly myself. You and Tommy and the others just stopped me from realizing my full potential."

"Don't you sound a lot like a kid who's been hypnotized." Billy responded to him, not liking the way he was looking at Haley.

"I'm tired of talking." Conner raised his arm up, calling. "Venom Rangers, Power Up!"

Rocky and Billy looked at each other, nodded, and then raised their arms as well. "Ninja Rangers Power Up!"

"The Ape!"

"The Wolf!"

After barely a second of transforming, Conner had rushed towards the huge dome that projected Zordon, fully intent on destroying it. Before he could reach it, Billy intercepted him midair, throwing the two of them to an opposing wall.

Rocky stood, waiting for Adam to make a move. "Adam, I don't want to fight you. You're my best friend."

"Best friend? That's a little middle school, don't you think?"

"What? But..I talked to you the other day. Remember?"

"You're such a fool to believe such nonsense." Though Adam was speaking this, Rocky had a feeling that it wasn't right. That there was something going on.

Perhaps, like the vision of Adam had said, he was trapped. The evil was wanting to fight. So, Rocky would fight. "Then prove to me why you're here."

Adam smirked, lunging forward for Rocky. They clashed weapons against each other, pressing with such equal strength that it became a stand still. Rocky, knowing that it was too dangerous to fight out here, pressed with all his might, shoving Adam back more. He then went outside, feeling Adam follow.

"You're under a spell, why can't you grasp that?" Billy asked as he avoided a punch to the head from Conner.

"You're the delusional one. You're on the wrong side!" Conner argued back, being one too stubborn. Besides, he truly felt that he was right.

They began blocking and kicking and punching and ducking. The movement was so fast that Haley couldn't even see it anymore. She and Alpha went near a table, bending down, trying to hide a little.

Outside, Rocky and Adam were both in fighting stances, prepared to attack. "I can't fight you." Rocky exclaimed, removing his helmet. "Why can't you see it?"

Adam laughed. "This body is very improvising to fighting. As soon as Zedd said they needed some of us to go destroy the command center, I knew I needed to go. Adam's best friend would be here. You destroy me, you destroy him."

Rocky looked at him in awe. How was it possible to split into two personalities? He thought that the lava or whatever just made the body it possessed, evil.

He watched as Adam shifted, waiting to deflect his attack, realizing he took off his helmet as well. In his eyes, Rocky could see the pain. He wanted help. He needed it. He glanced down at the necklace, seeing as how it was severed.

Not hesitating, Rocky lunged, forward, hooking his weapon underneath Adam's necklace. "This is for your own good buddy." He said to the stunned Adam. Apparently he didn't think Rocky would ever attack.

He jerked forward, watching as the necklace almost seemed to float down to the ground. Adam shoved Rocky away, falling to his knees. He grabbed his head, screaming in agony. Rocky wanted to go to him, to help him, but felt almost a barrier blocking him.

Suddenly, a bright light flooded through his eyes, making him force his shut. He peaked one open, seeing that the light had gone as quickly as it came. When he looked up, he gasped. Adam was lying there, not moving.

"Adam!" He knelt down, holding his unconscious friend in his lap. Hearing another yell, he looked up, seeing a ray of light disappearing; Billy and Haley running outside moments later.

"Rocky, don't move." Billy warned, looking off to the side. A scorpion was sitting centimeters away from his leg which held Adam's head and torso.

-

OH man. It's been so damn long! I'm sorry. I've been super busy with school and work and life in general. Besides, I've sort of lost my muse for this story, which I don't like.

Like this chapter, it's awful! I'm just bored at the moment and figured I'd update, FINALLY! I hope everyone had a great holiday and new year!

&& if anyone has any good ideas to help me out, I'd be sure to mention you in helping! I'm just running out of ways to bring everyone back. Like above, that was boring. You don't got to lie to me. In fact, this whole chapter was boring.

Anyways, please send me feedback! I need it


	20. Progress

Holey shit, it's been MONTHS! I need to finish this story though! I want to! Hah. I'll hopefully have better chapters to come! =] Yay! I hope my awesome reviewers are going to reply to this!!

I also decided to reread the story to get the feel for it once more, & in the last chapter, I said that there was a scorpion there. No, no, that was Dustin. It's actually a Funnel Web Spider (yuck!)

Venom

Chapter 20

Billy and Conner continued to slam each other into the walls, and once, into a computer system. Thankfully, the damage would easily be fixed by Alpha.

"Conner, you have to stop this! That necklace; it's controlling you!"

Conner smirked, glancing down though he couldn't see the necklace at the time since he was in uniform.

"A necklace; controlling me? That's cute." He lurched forward, fist ready to hit Billy. He wouldn't admit that that wasn't the first time he heard that. Jason, Adam, and Hunter had explained to him about those charms.

Billy used his opposite forearm to block the hit, retaliating with a punch, which was blocked again. They backed off each other, getting into a fighting stance.

Before Conner had the chance to attack, he placed his palm against his helmet where his forehead is, kneeling on one knee. "Arrgghh!" He yelled, the pain being quite uncomfortable. In an instant, he was gone.

Realizing that Conner was probably back wherever they were stationed, he ran outside, realizing he needed to check on his other comrades.

Without moving a muscle Rocky glanced down, fear welling up inside of him. Cam had warned them that all of the Venom Rangers would reveal their animal and that they were indeed, venomous. Shit. It had appeared that the morpher that was on Adam's wrist had turned into dust and then nothing. It was gone instantly, but he hadn't thought much on that.

'_Man, I haaaate spiders'._ Rocky groan internally.

His eyes shifted to Billy, noticing he had taken off his helmet as well, the fear in his eyes equivalent to Rocky's. Alpha and Hayley stood a good distance away from the group, knowing that it was dangerous.

A quite moan and Rocky tensed more. Adam was waking up! "Don't move!" Billy yelled, knowing that Rocky was mostly paralyzed, even if it was unintentional. Adam got the hint, his body not moving, but his glazed over eyes, glanced at Rocky.

The spider had heard the sound, itself tensing. It bent down, looking as if it were ready to strike.

Everyone was at a standstill, unsure as to what to do. That's when, seemingly out of no where, a flat disc flying towards the spider and knocking it off of the cliff Rocky and Adam were sitting near. Rocky and Adam turned their heads towards Billy, who in turn, was looking behind him.

Hayley, feeling a slight blush form on her cheeks, looked at all of them. "What? I played ultimate Frisbee in college."

Billy gave her a thankful smile before striding quickly over towards his two friends. "Adam, are you okay?"

Rocky helped his friend into a sitting position. Adam rubbed his eyes with his palms before letting them lean on the ground to keep himself up. He looked down, seeing a fabric that his hand had touched. It was what was left of his necklace. For whatever reason, it didn't disappear.

"I…yeah. I'm okay. It's a good thing they sent us down; Zedd was onto me. He knew I was breaking out of the spell." He looked up, seeing his friends clearly for the first time in what felt like forever.

Rocky stood up and he and Billy reached down to help Adam stand. He took their hands, pulling up. As he straightened up, he quickly groaned, grabbing his stomach, leaning over.

"What's wrong?" Rocky asked immediately, bending down as well.

He groaned more, lifting his shirt up. Hayley quickly gasped, covering her mouth. All over his torso were cuts that looked as if they were brand new. It had been from Zedd's latest attack on the remaining rangers.

_As soon as Conner warned Jason, Adam, and Hunter about the possibility of Zedd thinking one of them were betraying everyone else, the devil himself came._

"_My minions, why have you continued to fail me time after time?" He asked, walking into the room, glancing at every one of them._

"_We're not going to let it ha…" Jason began, but was cut off by Zedd._

"_Silence! That wasn't a question." _

"_It sounded like one." Conner winced as soon as he had said it._

_Zedd grabbed Conner by his throat, shoving him roughly into the wall. "It was rhetorical."_

_He pushed once more before letting go. Conner coughed, rubbing his neck. _

"_Now, one of you is thinking of betrayal. I'm giving you one chance; tell me who you are or you all will be punished."_

_The four of them looked at each other, trying to read the other face. None of them were sure who it was and even if they did, they wouldn't rat. _

"_Why would we betray each other? That's ridiculous." Hunter spat, clearly irritated with the situation. _

"_You, Hunter; I strongly believe is not the traitor. However, you will be punished for their silence." Zedd lifted his hand, sending a wave of energy at Hunter, forcing him to fall backwards out of the chair he was sitting on. _

_He landed hard on his back, rolling over to get on his hands and knees. Before he could compose himself, Zedd sent another wave, causing him to ball up into a fetile position, grabbing his head._

"_Stop!" The other three yelled though it was to no avail. Zedd sent energy at the three, pushing Conner against the wall, Jason over a desk, and Adam into a glass table. _

"_No one is willing to give it up?" Zedd asked, releasing the grips he had on the three, but leaving Hunter withering it pain on the ground._

"_It's me!" Adam glanced over quickly, seeing Jason had spoken. What was he thinking? Adam knew he needed to say something but he couldn't._

_Adam had noticed a sharp pain on his stomach, seeing a piece of glass lodged in it. He pulled it out, watching the cut go away instantly._

_Before Zedd could do anything, Rita ran into the room. "My Lord, they've found him! We have to stop it!" Zedd let go of Hunter who was breathing heavily._

"_Rocky and Billy are there? Adam, you and Conner take care of them." He replied, obviously testing Adam. _

"_Yes sir." _

Adam felt the blood on his chest. It had already been known that any damage done before and after the spell simply went away. Once the trance was gone, the damage came back.

He stumbled but Rocky and Billy were at his sides, helping him stay standing. "We need to get him some help, fast!"

"We don't have time to take him back to Sensei, Angel Grove's hospital will have to do." Billy stated, Rocky nodding in agreement. They quickly helped him to Rocky's jeep where he simply slumped into the passenger's seat. In a blink of an eye, Rocky had already gotten into the driver's seat and had the car reversing towards the make shift ground to drive on.

Billy and Hayley stayed, standing side by side as they watched Rocky speed off towards town. Without realizing it, Hayley had grabbed onto Billy's hand.

They both noticed this at the same time, glancing down, before releasing, blushing, turning away.

"I'm sorry." Both had said in unison, only causing more blush to happen.

"We uhm, we should get back inside." Billy mentioned, trying to lose the awkward feeling and also knowing that it was a true statement.

"Yeah, let's get back in." They shared a smile, walking back inside, hoping to crack the code that they were missing.

-

After excusing himself from the table, Dustin went into the room that had always been his for privacy. Since he was a teacher at the academy, he had his own bedroom in case he wanted to stay rather than go home.

He lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling. What was wrong with him? He was so jittery and afraid. Why wasn't Blake acting like he was? It even looked like Blake had healed much quicker than he had. It didn't seem fair. He was glad that his friend was okay, but couldn't help but feel like the weakling.

Getting up, he moved to the bathroom. He turned on the cold water, letting it run over his hands. He cupped his hands together, collecting as much water as they would hold before bending down, splashing the water into his face. He repeated this twice, reaching behind himself for a towel. He then dabbed at his face, drying it mostly, looking in the mirror.

The face staring back wasn't a face he was accustomed to. It almost looked dead. The skin tone was still much paler than Dustin usually had and the dark circles under his eyes proved he had missed out on sleep. Then his eyes; those red, crimson eyes.

Dustin froze. He blinked a few times, leaning closer towards the mirror. He watched as the reflection smirked. "What? You thought you could actually get rid of me?" It snickered back, Dustin realizing he was talking to his Evil self.

"You're gone. This isn't real."

"Oh, I'm not real? I'm inside of you forever now, waiting. When you least expect it, I'll be back Dustin and I'll kill that lion of yours. And your friends. They'll die in their sleep. By you."

"No! I won't let you!" He yelled, smashing his fist into the mirror, shattering it.

"No!" He yelled again, rising up quickly from his bed. His heart was thumping in his chest and a light sweat had covered his skin. He rubbed his face in his hands, realizing he must haven fallen asleep when he laid down. He hadn't gone to the bathroom. It was just a dream, no, a nightmare.

"Hey. Are you okay?" Shane asked from the doorway, spooking Dustin.

"What? Yeah, I'm fine. Just a dream." He mumbled the last part, sighing heavily.

"Do you mind?" Shane asked, gesturing to coming into the room.

"Huh? No…come on in." Dustin replied, moving so he was now sitting on the edge of his bed, his feet planted on the floor.

Shane walked into the room, closing the door behind him. He walked the couple feet to the bed, taking a seat beside Dustin. "Dustin, are you okay? You don't have to hide anything from me."

Dustin bit his lip, wishing Shane hadn't asked that question. He didn't want to answer it, and to be honest, he wasn't sure how to answer that.

"I…I don't know. I know I should be, but I'm not. I can't forget all the pain. I wasn't strong like Blake." He looked down at the floor, shame overcoming him.

"You're not weak Dust…you were the first one to get broken from the spell. Your Earth power automatically fought against the evil. If it wasn't for you having that ability, then you could be stuck like the others still are." Shane looked down, watching Dustin's fidgety hands rub each other.

Dustin frowned, turning his head to face Shane. "You don't know what it's like seeing and feeling your friends fighting against you when you try to tell them to stop." He knew that they probably couldn't hear him, but still, that betrayal.

"We had to do it. We were fighting the evil out of you. We think he tried to make you feel…"

"Sensei already told me that that's what he did. It doesn't matter Shane. Don't you get it? I can't trust you guys. I failed at being a power ranger. I'm useless. I just…I just want to be normal again." He said, irritation in his voice. A trait of Dustin's which never shown. He stood up, wincing slightly as he had forgotten about some of his injuries.

"How can you say that?" Shane asked, a tiny bit of annoyance adding to his temper. "We love you. We would do anything for you. You're a great power ranger. You wouldn't be one if you weren't worthy."

Dustin felt his eyes burn with tears that wanted to fall but he wouldn't let them. He kept his back turned from Shane until he felt a firm, yet gentle hand on his shoulder. He turned around, meeting Shane's gaze, almost equally glazed over.

"You're my best friend and…I thought we lost you for a second man. We, Tori and I, and even Cam and the others, we're so thankful that you're with us now. You have to trust us, we're your team, your friends, your family." He kept his eyes locked on Dustin's reluctant ones.

Dustin finally broke eye contact after what seemed like an eternity, feeling two tears slide down his cheeks. "It just…hurts." He mumbled, his voice failing him. Shane closed the gap between the two, putting Dustin in a comforting hug. He wrapped his arms around Shane, feeling the tears fall freely as he quietly cried.

Shane moved them towards the bed, taking a seat, letting Dustin lean on him, crying. He just kept his arms around his best friend, doing his best at being there for him. He knew Dustin had needed to let this out.

"It's okay…it's okay. Just let it out." He cooed softly.

Maybe ten or fifteen minutes later, Dustin had ceased the hard tears for his body was no longer shaking violently from them. He sniffled letting his arms let go of Shane, lifting up. Shane let him up, seeing the drying streaks down his friend's cheeks. Dustin, slightly embarrassed, wiped at his face, eying Shane's shirt.

"I'm sorry."

Shane followed Dustin's gaze, seeing the wet spots. He gave a small chuckle. "Don't sweat it, I have plenty of shirts."

Dustin returned a smile, one a little bigger than the fake ones he had been giving lately. "Thanks."

Shane clapped Dustin on the back very lightly, a smile remaining on his face. "You'd do the same for me." He stood up, hearing a few stiff joints pop from no moving the position he was in.

Dustin went into his bathroom, cleaning up a little, knowing his face probably looked beyond puffy. Shane waited outside of the room, deciding he wasn't going to let Dustin stay cooped up in this room. As he came out of the bathroom, Shane straightened up.

"Hungry?"

Dustin grinned, standing up. "Is that a trick question?"

The two best of friends walked out of the room and down towards the kitchen. Before getting there, Shane popped into his room, changing into another shirt.

Dustin's aura was noted that he was feeling a little bit better than he had been since he'd been back.

-

Kim, Aisha, and Tommy had headed back to Ninja Ops an hour or so later, wanting to tell everyone about Zordon. It was spectacular news that they would have a chance of reviving him and having him help stop Zedd. At least, they hoped they could get Zordon's help with that part.

As they entered the main room, Kira, Ethan, Cam, and Sensei were sitting around the small table. Not too far away in the kitchen were Dustin, Shane, Tori, and Blake who were in light conversation.

"We've got good news." Kim said happily as she joined Kira at her side. Sensei made eye contact with Tommy, a smile already forming on his face.

"Actually…it's great news." Aisha added, taking Kim's hand in hers, squeezing it happily, and waiting for Tommy to reveal the 'secret.'

The four friends who were in the kitchen came into the room to get a better chance at hearing more clearly.

"Well, as you all know, Rocky, Billy, and Hayley set off on their own quest." He began, making sure that everyone was there to hear him. "They found Zordon. He's….alive." If that's what you would call it.

Ethan's jaw dropped. "ZORDON!? The Zordon? No way! That is so awesome! Are we going to meet him? He's like…wow! I can't believe…" The middle of believe was cut off by Kira placing her hand over his mouth.

"Sorry, he get's excited sometimes." Kira knew a little about Zordon from the video diary Tommy had but that was it. She did know how important he was.

The Ninja Storm and Blake were more unsure as to who this person was. At the sight of their faces, Tommy gave them a brief explanation of who he was.

"We are hoping that the wise Zordon will be of help to us in helping our friends. We must be patient with Billy, and Hayley." Sensei hadn't meant to intentionally leave out Rocky, it's just that he mainly went for the muscle, in case they were attacked.

Naturally, as if on cue, Tommy's phone went off.

"I never thought you'd get the hang of using a cell phone." A soft voice said through the phone.

Tommy's face changed from surprise to concern. "Wait? Rocky? That's not you, is it? You sound like…Adam?! Is that you?"

"Yeah…it's me. Here's Rocky." A small sound of the phone moving was heard before Rocky cleared his throat. "You heard him loud and clear. Well…clearish. Zedd sent him and Conner. Adam was able to be freed."

"And Conner?" At this, Kira stiffened and Ethan's once happy face at hoping to meet Zordon came crashing down as he snapped his head up in the direction of Tommy.

"Err…like it always happens, he was sent back to…wherever they are." The sadness in his voice was obviously.

"Oh…but it's one step at a time, right?" He frowned, but was glad to hear that Adam was back. "How is he?"

There was a pause before Rocky spoke. "He's alive, that's what matters." He explained about the cuts and why he was in the hospital.

"We're hoping to regroup with you guys soon. We need to figure out the defense system here and hopefully be able to leave it without worrying of Zordon and Alpha being attacked." Rocky explained, knowing that they all would be better together, communicating with Alpha like they used to.

"We'll look forward to seeing you all soon."

-

"Arggggggh!" Zedd yelled, throwing an energy blast at a random putty, killing it instantly.

"What's wrong my lord?" Goldar asked, coming closer to Zedd yet leaving a good distance between the two. Rtia and Divatox stayed a much further proximity from them two.

"What's wrong? What's wrong is that another Venom has gone down and that's not even the worst of my problems!"

"What can be worse than that?" Rita spat from across the room, receiving a glare from Zedd.

"Zordon is alive."

"You wanted to see us?" Jason asked as he, Hunter, and Conner came into the chamber.

"You all have failed me time and time again. Why is this?"

The three didn't say a word, unsure as to what there was to say. They had felt the loss of three comrades so far, the sadness trying to seep in, making their anger even more.

"It's probably because we have a crappy leader." Conner muttered.

"Shut up." Jason replied, clearly annoyed.

"No. I won't shut up. It's your fault this happens."

"Because you could do so much better?"

"Yeah, I think I could?"

Jason turned on Conner, grabbing his collar. "Oh yeah?"

"ENOUGH! I've had enough from you two. Now, you're going to learn how to work together." He grabbed his staff, pointing it at them. They disappeared. Hunter looked in disbelief as they were gone.

"What the hell did you do?" He asked, ready to fight Zedd.

"Calm down, they're not dead." Rita laughed, coming forward. She grabbed a crystal ball, showing it to Hunter.

At first it was foggy, but then it shown Jason's face and then Conner's. They were in some sort of a pit. A prisoner, like room. Hunter couldn't help but smirk, at the next thing he saw.

It looked like they had to fight a bunch of goons. The best part was; they were chained together.

-

Yay! End! For now! I really want to get this going more! I hope you guys liked this chapter although it's full of epiphanies from my mess ups and lots of fillers!

The scene with Dustin and Shane probably seemed close to slash, but this isn't a slash story, and they're just very close friends! Nothing more I that!

I hope you guys enjoyed and please, reviews keep me going, especially in a time of muse!

Later!

Jackie


	21. Concerns With A Chance Of Doubt

YAY! I'm so happy to hear from some of the veteran readers! You guys are so awesome for sticking around! I'm going to try and get this finished up, though I have no idea what I'm going to do with some parts and how many chapters this is going to end up being! I'm going to try and focus on all of the characters fairly instead of only a few. I know I've lacked in the MMPR scene and same with the Dino group. I'll try and fix some of that…or at least add more.

Keep updating! I looooooove it!

Venom

Chapter 21

Rocky and Adam hurriedly got to the hospital, not unable to find it since the hospital was a place they had been accustomed to when they were younger. Rocky halted at the emergency doors, running over to the passenger side to help Adam out of the car.

Adam hissed from the pain as he was brought out of the jeep, keeping one arm around his stomach and the other around Rocky's shoulders. Rocky put an arm around Adam's back firmly yet light, walking briskly through the doors.

Before they made it to the desk, an EMT noticed them, grabbing a wheelchair and bringing it swiftly towards the two. "Here, sit down." He offered, though it was more of a command. Adam sat down with the help of Rocky as the EMT ran to get a nurse.

A few seconds later, a couple nurses came by, pushing Rocky out of the way and taking Adam towards the back to get him taken care of. Rocky began to follow but one of them stopped him.

"You can't come back there. We'll come and get you once we take care of him." With that said, Rocky was left standing where he was.

Though Rocky was certain that Adam was going to be fine, he couldn't stand feeling so helpless. He wasn't able to save Jason and Adam when they had been ambushed and then had to escape without them. He felt awful.

After pacing for twenty minutes or so, a nurse came by. "You're Rocky? Your friend Adam is okay and he's now in room 302." She told him with a smile. He thanked her, quickly going towards the elevator.

Entering the room, Adam has his eyes open, obviously too aware of everything to want to sleep. His shirt was off but there were wraps all around his entire torso, leaving his collar bone visible. It was almost as if he were wearing something. His eyes met Rocky's, a smile on his face.

"Thanks man."

"No need to thank me, it's what I do." Rocky laughed, coming near the bed, resting his hand on Adam's for a moment, giving it a squeeze before releasing.

Adam glanced down for a moment before looking back up at his best friend. "I'm worried about the others." He said, remembering how, evil, they seemed.

"We'll get them back, we have to." Rocky told him, pulling out his phone. He hit a few buttons, placing the phone to his ear. At the curious look on Adam's face, he smirked. "Tommy will want to know."

"Let me talk to him first." Adam asked, reaching for the phone. After a moment, he cleared his throat, talking to Tommy.

Once Rocky had the phone, he talked to Tommy for a few moments, then after saying that they should all get back together, hung up.

"How long do I have to stay here?"

"I think the doctor just has to take a look at you and hopefully, will clear you. I mean, you only fell onto a glass table." That's what Rocky had told them when they asked about the marks.

As if right on time, the doctor came into the room. She was walking backwards, finishing a conversation. Looking down, she glanced at the chart. "Adam Park, is it? My name is Doctor Deana Toks." She set down her chart, smiling at the two guys, Adam in particular. "I'm being told you've got some nasty cuts, huh?"

Colliding into each other and then a wall, Jason yelled in irritation, yanking his left hand which was connected to Conner's right. "We have to work together you idiot!"

"Then take my lead."

"That's not going to happen. Listen…" He began, turning to look at Conner. "If you just let me lead, and we get through this, then Zedd will release us and then we'll go about our own ways. Got it?"

Conner processed what he was saying, and then sighed. "Fine. But only so we're not connected anymore."

Jason began to stand, giving his hand to help Conner up. Reluctant for a moment, Conner took it, pulling himself up.

In the room they were in, there were about twenty putties or so. For the last hour or so, they had been royally getting their asses handed to them because they wouldn't work together.

"Ready?" Jason asked, getting into a fighting stance.

"Ready." Conner replied, also taking up the same stance.

A few putties came by, Jason needing his left hand. Conner obliged to being yanked a little, kicking at the putty since his arm was being pulled with Jason. They defeated it, turning to be ready for the next. This time, Conner needed his right arm and Jason moved so that way he could let Conner move.

They defeated that one, Jason placing his hand on Conner's shoulder, kicking out, hitting two putties at once. Conner rolled onto Jason's back, punching out another. They continued making sure they were reading the other's moves, not to mess the other up. To work together.

Panting only lightly, the two of them looked around the room, seeing that there were no putties left.

"Well done." Zedd's voice rang throughout the room they were in. They reappeared in the chamber room in front of Zedd. "No more bickering." He gave them one warning as the chain gave way.

Jason would attempt to not argue with Conner anymore, as long as he wouldn't try and take over.

"Where's Hunter?" Conner asked, noticing he was no longer in the room.

"An assignment."

Blake wanted some fresh air. Even though Sensei wished none of them would leave the safer area, Blake insisted that he would be fine. If he were to get ambushed, he'd Ninja Streak out of there until help would come.

Besides, he still needed to get his Thunder Ranger power back. He had gone up to the tops of the cliffs to channel his inner self to get it back. He figured that it'd be easy since he had just gotten done having a sort of ranger power.

Though it wasn't as easy at first, he was able to get down to his inner core, sure that he unlocked his ability. He knew he should get back to Ninja Ops to make sure, but he couldn't go there just yet. He felt like there was so much on his mind that being there, consumed by so many other people, he couldn't think straight.

He came down from the cliff, walking along the beach shore, noticing that no one seemed to come around ever since they attacks that had fallen here. It was sort of sad, yet peaceful for him.

Blake took a seat near where the small waves came up to the shore, only his feet touching the water. He brought his knees up to his chest, wrapping his arms around them.

"Need some company?" A female voice asked. Blake didn't have to turn to know it was Tori. He sighed, though didn't mind the company. She took a seat beside him, imitating the same way he was sitting.

After a few minutes of silence, Tori decided she wanted him to talk to her. She didn't like to see him hurting. "Have you tried to get your powers back yet?"

He gave a small smile, nodding. "Yeah, I think I did. I just haven't tried yet." He replied to her, keeping his eyes towards the horizon.

She gave a hopeful, cheerful smile. "Blake, that's great! Aren't you happy?"

"I wish I could say I was Tor." He replied to her, still not wanting to look over.

"You can talk to me."

He laid his forehead on his arms for a moment, before inhaling deeply, turning his head to face her. "I know, I know."

The sadness was so heavy in his eyes, that it pained her that she couldn't help him. "It's Hunter, isn't it?"

He didn't answer at first, not sure if he trusted his voice. Instead, he slowly nodded his head, blinking multiple times. She looked down at the sand, not sure what to say now. The obvious had been said out loud and she figured he didn't want to talk about it.

"He's always been the one to protect me, always. He even was when we were under that…spell. Whatever it was." He sighed, remembering when he helped him during the Jason/Conner ordeal.

She looked curiously over at him, wanting to know what he meant by that.

"Jason and Conner got into it. Jason hit me, and Hunter looked as if he was going to kill him. When I asked him why he reacted that way, he didn't respond." Though he hadn't received an answer, he knew that it was because he is Hunter's brother. Hunter knew that, deep down.

"Then Hunter isn't as bad as we thought?" This time, Blake gave her the curious look.

"Well…when we were talking about whom to try and help, we figured we needed more rangers to go against Hunter. We think he may be too strong." She frowned at Blake's reaction which looked angered.

"You guys are planning on beating the life out of him." He then realized how harsh that sounded, quickly frowning. "I'm sorry, maybe you're right. I just….I don't want him to get hurt. I love him." His eyes began to water again which caused him to blink furiously, momentarily turning away from Tori.

She moved her body closer, putting her arms around him, her head on his shoulder. It probably looked a little awkward, but she didn't care. He turned his head, leaning it on hers as they both silently looked at towards the water.

"His anger is making it worse for him. What if we can't get him back?" Blake asked quietly, his voice choked only slightly.

"We will; he has to remember who he is. His has anger but he also is strong. He'll have to break through the evil." She assured him, wanting to assure herself as well. Honestly, she wasn't sure if they could get him back or not.

"We've been through everything together and to know that he's in trouble, it's hard. I want to rescue him now, but I know it's impossible." Especially that he was still weak, though he didn't want to admit that.

Tori lifted her head, causing Blake to lift his, turning to look at her. Their faces were inches apart. "We will get him back." She said quietly, staring into his eyes.

For what felt like ever, Blake leaned in, kissing her for the first time in weeks. Besides being kidnapped for over two weeks, they hadn't seen each other for almost two weeks prior. They had both missed each other dearly and it felt great for them both to share a kiss.

Tori moved her hand to lay on the side of his face as Blake moved to do the same, his thumb rubbing her cheek bone. They parted for a moment to look at each other, before locking their lips together once more.

"I missed you."

"I missed you too." Blake replied, resting his forehead against hers.

"Cute." Blake and Tori instantly tensed, opened their eyes, and looked over, dread seeping into their bodies. They stood up quickly, not sure what to do.

"What are you doing?" Tori asked, knowing that they should probably get out of there.

"What do you mean? I wanted to see my baby brother of course." Hunter snickered, keeping his cold crimson eyes on Blake's brown.

Blake glared at him, clenching his fists. "You're not my brother. My brother wouldn't be trying to hurt my friends."

"Oh, but I am your brother. I'm just the upgraded version." He laughed maliciously which gave Tori goosebumps. "Would you like to see a trick?"

Blake and Tori just stared at him, their bodies tensed up, waiting for a fight to begin, wondering which of them were about to get attacked.

Hunter closed his eyes, looking to center himself. His eyes went from shut to tightened, it looking as if he were concentrating too hard. "This is…harder than I expected." He muttered, pushing harder.

Instantly, a loud cry rang out of Hunter's throat, his body falling onto his hands and knees. He was breathing heavily, but had yet to look up.

Tori and Blake exchanged unsure glances to each other before looking back to Hunter.

Hunter looked up finally, causing Blake and Tori to both gasp. "Blake? Is…that you?" Hunter's serious, ice blue eyes asked. They looked tired; defeated.

Without thinking, Blake rushed to his side. "Hunter? Hunter is it you?" Blake asked, bending down to kneel beside his brother.

"Blake…you have to get…get away from me…he's coming back." He cried, frustration evident in his voice.

"No, just fight him! You have to! I need you bro!" Blake said, tears now falling slowly from his eyes.

Hunter closed his eyes as if he were in pain. "He's too strong…just kill me now. Kill me now Blake! You'll save me if you kill me." He said, grabbing Blake by the collar.

Blake looked at him in shock. "What? No… Hunter I can't. You're going to be okay, stay strong. Please bro."

"Just do it!"

Blake was in disbelief. He couldn't even think of the possibility of killing his brother.

"Blake…Ahhhhhh!" Hunter yelled in agony, placing his hands on his head. "I knew I couldn't count on you."

"What?"

Laughing was heard from Hunter, causing Blake to freeze. Shit. He was definitely too close to Hunter.

"I said…" Hunter, whose eyes were definitely redder than the crimson color if possible, responded. He moved his arm fiercely, shoving Blake back almost fifteen feet. Tori ran to his side, helping him stand. "It'll be your weak, pathetic fault if Hunter should die." He smirked, disappearing.

Tori and Blake stood on the beach, looking around, confused. What was that about? She saw the hurt in Blake's eyes, hugging him.

The beaming in Aisha's face was so obviously from everyone else, that they couldn't help but feel a lighter tone in the air. She was so happy and excited to get to see Adam. Alive and well. Her Adam was going to be okay.

Tommy knew that things seemed to be looking up for them. Once Jason was back on their side, then their team would be back together. Though they were separated from Rocky, Adam, and Billy temporarily, they'd all get to fight alongside again. Though he was a power ranger still with a new team, he couldn't forget all those times when he was younger. Those are high school memories you would never forget.

The time that he had met Kim; becoming such good friends with Jason; the group of friends that would forever be known as family. He enjoyed his new ranger tasks, but he would always be an original, having the Tigerzord power. He figured there had been power rangers before them, just not on Earth. It was weird to think that there were in fact other beings out there.

Though Kim was happy for Aisha, and obviously happy in general that Adam was okay, she still couldn't help but be sad about Jason. She missed him terribly. They had literally been about to finalize living together, and then he had disappeared. Everything had happened so fast that she felt guilty for not knowing he was missing right away. She didn't even think to call him to see if he'd be going to Tommy's since she assumed if it was power ranger important, he'd have been the first to be there.

Sighing, she noticed that she was the only one in the room, besides Tommy. Everyone had gotten up, deciding to go outside since it was nice out. They felt too cooped up in the room. Tommy had noticed Kim was zoned out, though he had been as well.

"Hey." He said to her from across the table.

She gave him a small smile. "Hey."

"Everything's going to be okay Kim."

Kim nodded her head, her smile remaining in its size. "I know. There's just…there's something I need to tell you."

Tommy sighed, nodding his head. "Kimmy, I already know. You and Jace are seeing each other, right?" He was always good at reading her mind.

She looked shocked at him which made him want to explain. "Besides, sort of, er, keeping up on you all…" Tommy saw the small scowl he gave her, but he continued. "He called me. Weeks after the incident with Maligore, he told me that you two were seeing each other a lot more." She relaxed, disregarding her original thought that he had been spying on them.

"Why?"

"He wanted my permission." He smirked lightly, though was still a little sad. "I love you both and, you two are great for each other. I'm just happy to have you both in my life." He reached over, taking one of her hands in both of his. He brought her hand up, kissing the top of it lightly.

She smiled, one that was bigger this time. "Thanks Tommy." Kim was glad that she could tell he genuinely meant it. She was surprised that Jason had talked to Tommy, because he had never told her.

Kira, Ethan, Cam, Shane, and Dustin went outside while Sensei went to his quarters to meditate.

"Just try." Shane beckoned after the third time. Dustin frowned, shaking his head.

"Not around you guys." They had been trying to convince him to morph. He had connected with his animal spirit but had yet to try and morph, you know, being that he got kidnapped and all.

"We won't judge you, come on. Stop being a baby." Shane smirked, turning to face Cam. Who knew Cam would ever, ever call someone a baby.

Dustin made a face at him, sighing. "Fine. Just, hold on."

Kira and Ethan kept quiet, knowing that this was between those guys.

Dustin inhaled quickly, closing his eyes. Opening them defiantly, he moved his arms.

"Ninja Storm. Ranger Form. Ha!"

"Power of Earth!"

Instead of standing in his normal clothes, Dustin now appeared before them in his yellow uniform, moving his arms in front of his face.

"Yes! It worked!" He yelled, his fist pumping into the air triumphantly.

He powered down, just glad to know he could transform when needed. Shane and Cam came to his sides, all cheery. Their team was back together; well, their original team. Even though Cam came a little bit later, he was still considered on of them since he was from the Ninja Academy. They considered Blake and Hunter as their team; they just had their own bond.

"Are you okay?" Ethan asked, seeing that Kira had moved towards a bench several feet away to sit.

She looked up to him, nodding. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just want this to all be over."

He sat down next to her, agreeing. "Yeah, me too. You know Conner, I'm sure he's okay."

"Okay? Ethan, how can he be okay? I mean, he's forced to be evil. That has to be so scary." She wanted so badly to be holding onto Conner. She wanted his arms around her, protecting her. Sure, she could take care of herself, but she wanted him there too.

He frowned. "I guess you're right. He's brave though, he can pull through it."

"And if he can't?"

"Kira, why are you looking at this as the glass half empty?" He asked, shocked at her pessimistic take on this.

"Haven't you noticed Dustin? He's not the same anymore. What if that happens to Conner? He's been gone longer." She muttered. She wouldn't tell him that she could hear Dustin yell in the middle of the night, her and Hayley's room being closest to his.

"He's here though. It's going to take time, but Dustin will bounce back. So will Conner." He nudged her with his shoulder, her body swaying to the side from the push.

"I hope so."

I guess this calls for an end to another chapter. Like most of these have been, another filler. I think I did a good job of making sure everyone was involved this time. Okay, scratch that, I missed Billy & Hayley, but, they're not that much fun since I can't speak in technical, computer terms. Hah.

I hope you guys liked it & I know you probably have a big question for me & it'll be answered in the next chapter!

Leave me some love!

Jackie


	22. Trial & Error

I'm so happy to have the ability to want to continue this story! I'm going to try and get this plus one or two more chapters before Friday because I'll be leaving for vacation then. So for those following eight days, I won't be on a computer! Please keep up the reviewing because those are what really gives me the urge to finish this story! All your opinions, good and bad, are highly appreciated. I can take criticism if you want to tell me what you may not like, it helps me write better!

I did notice that Aisha kinda just disappeared when Kim & Tommy were talking, so let's assume she went to get some air? Hah. Whoops!

& as another mess up I noticed, in Chapter 9, at the end when everyone's morphing, I forgot to make the Ninjetti ranger's actually morph. Whoops! Hah…damn.

Venom

Chapter 22

Adam felt a little uneasy with the way the doctor was looking at him, that was sure. Rocky cleared his throat, getting her attention. "When do you think he'll be released? We actually have to catch a flight in about two hours and can't really miss it."

The Doctor looked at him, nodding, then back to Adam. "Oh dear, I'm not so sure he can leave that easily. Let me take a look at the cuts."

Adam shifted painfully, moving the thin sheet covering him to the side. Rocky turned respectively so he wouldn't see his friend undressed. The Doctor bumped into Rocky to get to Adam's side as if she hadn't run into him. She moved the clothing over to the side and pressed her hands to his tan skin. Adam hissed at the cold touch of fingers.

She pulled up on a bandage to see the stitches in his side. "Now that is a nasty cut. A glass table, you say?" She looked up at him, matching his eyes. He looked over at Rocky, before nodding.

"Yeah we were trying to help a friend fix part of his ceiling and I lost my balance." Adam looked at Rocky again, their eyes matching. Something didn't feel right.

The Doctor pressed onto his side before straightening up. "Well Mister DeSantos, can we speak for a minute in the hallway?" She walked outside of the room, going down the hall. Rocky gave one last look at Adam before following her outside of the room.

"Hey wait? Didn't you want to talk?" He asked, seeing her move down and around the corner. He jogged to catch up to her. He got to the corner, seeing that she was opening a door to a room.

He went to the door, looking in, not seeing anything. He felt for a light switched, turned it on, and nothing. "Uhhm..Doctor?" Rocky felt the hair on the back of his neck standing on end. It looked like an empty room, except there was no bed in the center. Instead, he saw her silhouette. "Uhm, are you okay? Is everything okay?" He came up behind her, touching her on the shoulder.

"Everything's going to be fine." Rocky tensed, her voice sounding different. Before he could react, a sharp, abrupt pain erupted from his stomach. He grunted in pain, grabbing at his stomach. He fell to his knees, pain overwhelming him. "This was too easy." She laughed, taking a bed cloth from the table next to her, cleaning off the blood that was coming from the object in her hand. She walked out of the room, shutting the door behind her.

As she came into Adam's room, he was sitting on the edge, trying to stand. "Mr. Park, you shouldn't be standing." She told him as she pressed her hand firmly on his chest to push him back onto the bed.

"Where's Rocky? How did you know his last name?" He asked, growing ever more suspicious.

She had her back turned from him, rummaging through a drawer. She found what she was looking for. Turning, she had a needle in her hand. She flicked it a couple of times, squirting out some of its contents. "Now, lie still so I can give you this."

Adam backed away, biting his lip to hide the pain he was feeling. "Who are you?"

Suddenly, she was on him, her hand clasped tightly around his neck, her body smashing onto his, keeping him pinned to the bed. She stuck the needle in his arm. "You don't recognize me?"

Before Adam passed out, realization and a very bright light overcame him. "Diva…tox."

"Did you two have fun?" Hunter asked, walking into the room that had originally doomed them all. The room that contained that damned pit. He wondered what sort of material the ship was made out of, being it held a pit of lava. On top of that, how big was the ship? That was a good twenty feet or so before you actually hit the lava, no telling how deep it was.

Jason and Conner glared at Hunter, seeing his arrival. They hadn't really spoken since the ordeal. It was good and bad; at least they weren't arguing.

"I'll take that as a yes." He muttered, bored with the conversation already.

"Where were you anyways? Zedd said you had an assignment?" Jason questioned him.

"I figured I'd go taunt someone and actually learned an interesting fact."

"And what's that?"

"Blake didn't die. Whatever it was we felt, it wasn't the death of a teammate. He was alive and with that girl, Tori." He wasn't sure why he felt a sort of jealousy against that girl.

Jason looked confused which was about the same appearance Conner had.

"So you think Dustin and Adam are alive? They just betrayed us?" Conner asked curiously, sitting up from his laying position on the floor.

Hunter shrugged, folding his arms across his chest. "I wouldn't put it past them. I just don't know what that was we felt."

Jason frowned. "It felt like a part of, something died. I can't explain it any other way but that. Maybe that was our ranger powers as one feeling betrayal."

"Since when can you feel betrayal?" Conner asked.

Jason inhaled sharply, deciding he needed to not fight with Conner. He couldn't stand if he was attached to him, again. He scratched at his neck, feeling the necklace around his throat. "Do you think it has anything to do with these?" He asked, tugging on it.

Hunter and Conner followed suite, looking down and touching theirs. "I'm not sure, it could. The bigger question is why can't we just take them off?" Hunter asked, pulling roughly at it, but to no avail.

The trio remained silent for several moments, each trying to come up with an answer. After another minute or so, Conner was the one who decided to speak up first. "How long have we been a team? Why can't I remember anything about my past? It doesn't make any sense." He had been wondering that for days.

Jason looked at him with a weird face as Hunter did the same. "We've always been a team, don't you remember? We went to a school together. I trained you both. We've been waiting for years to be beckoned as rangers." Though this is what his memory told him, deep down, it didn't sound right.

Hunter nodded in agreement. "Blake and I came together. Then you did, not too far from Dustin. Before us were Jason and Adam. We've been friends for years." He too felt that the memory seemed clouded but he couldn't explain why that was.

Conner thought for a moment, then nodded his head. "I guess you're right. Back to these though, I don't see why they can't be removed, it doesn't make sense."

"Then why don't one of us let the others take theirs off?" Jason proposed, thinking that that would be the most logical way to try.

"Who takes theirs off?" Conner asked. As he looked from Hunter to Jason, to Jason to Hunter, he frowned. "Hey now, not me!"

"Why not?" Hunter asked him curiously. He wasn't going to be the one to remove his and he was sure Jason felt definite with keeping his on. What if something bad happened?

"Because…I think I should get a say in this!" He argued, standing up and moving away from the two.

"It doesn't matter though. We're stronger than you alone." Hunter said as he and Jason stood side by side.

"So what if you get it off of me? What if you kill me or something?"

Hunter and Jason frowned, annoyed. "I saw Blake alive myself. You'll be fine." The pair had been getting closer and closer to Conner. When they were almost in arms reach, Conner used his speed ability, going across the room.

"You can't keep running from us." Jason bellowed as he and Hunter went around the lava pit to get to Conner. Hunter got there quicker, using his Ninja Streak. Jason wasn't too far behind. Conner ran again, but it soon became a chase as Hunter was right on his tail. It became a quick blur of crimson and red around the room. Jason decided to let Hunter catch him since he clearly didn't have a speeding ability.

A loud sound was heard, Jason looked behind him. It appeared that Hunter had slammed into Conner, which in turn caused them both to hit against the wall. There appeared to be a dent. Conner punched Hunter who moved several feet back. He ran again, Hunter following close behind. Jason watched as Hunter changed his course, jumping into the air, colliding into Conner. Quickly ducking, Hunter and Conner glided over Jason's head, sending them painfully on the ground.

As it appeared they both were a little disoriented, Jason ran over, grabbing Conner up and then twisting his arm behind his back. "Settle down. We're not going to kill you." Conner kept struggling but was getting tired. He had been running around and into things. By the time, Hunter was brushing his torso off from the dirt and pieces of wall that were on him.

He came up to Jason and Conner, smirking. "Relax." He said as he reached forward for the necklace. He curled his fingers around it, his other hand resting on Conner's shoulder. Conner tensed up, as did Jason when Hunter gave a swift tug.

Nothing. Hunter groaned, grabbing it again, yanking. Nothing again. "What the hell?"

"See? It's a sign that you shouldn't take it off." Conner defended, trying to get out of Jason's grip, failing. Hunter glanced at Jason, a decision made in their minds without having to say it out loud.

Before Conner could react, Jason let go of him, taking hold of the necklace from behind as Hunter had a hold of it from the front. Instantly, they pulled opposite ways.

"Report to Earth now." With that, the three disappeared, being engulfed with light which was sending them down.

As Blake and Tori made their way back towards Ninja Ops, they met up with Aisha who had gone to get a coffee. They weren't surprised; the girl had drunk almost all the coffee they had.

"I just wanted to get some air, you know?" She asked with a grin. At the sight of their faces, she quickly frowned. "Is everything okay?"

They looked at each other as they continued to make their way towards safety. "Hunter was around. We need to tell the others." She nodded, walking as quickly as they were. She had loads of questions but decided to wait until everyone else was around so they wouldn't have to repeat anything.

Ten minutes or so later, they had walked through the waterfall, coming into contact with Kira, Ethan, Shane, Cam, and a happier looking Dustin. Instead of going inside, they noticed that Kim and Tommy were on their way to be outside with the others. The only one missing was Sensei, but it was fine. Someone else could explain to him later.

"We were on the beach and Hunter appeared." Blake said abruptly.

As it appeared no one was going to say anything, Shane decided to. "Did he do anything? Did he say what his reasoning was?"

"Like it's that easy." Blake muttered, quickly regretting it. "Sorry. I'm not sure what he was doing. He…somehow became himself again, but only for a few seconds. Then out of no where, he went all evil again."

"He didn't morph or try to attack. It didn't make any sense." Tori added on, placing her arm around Blake's waist.

"Maybe he was trying to spy on you." Tommy said, rubbing his chin as if in thought.

"But why?" Blake asked, unsure with that observation.

"I'm not sure. To see how strong you were after being back?"

"Or…maybe to see if I'm alive." Blake answered, it suddenly seeming to make sense to him now.

"What do you mean?" Tori asked, obviously confused.

"Well, when Dustin was brought back…we all felt this sort of pain; the loss of a teammate. Honestly, I thought you were dead." Blake said as he looked over towards Dustin.

"The question is, however, did Hunter come to see if you were okay, or did Zedd send him?" Shane asked, knowing there was no answer as they didn't know.

"I think it may be Hunter. I told Tori that he was still a little protective towards me while I was up there. I think if Zedd would have sent him, he would have sent the others, right?" He looked at Tommy, figuring he may have the answer.

Tommy thought for a moment, wondering if that would be the case. "Sure, it seems validated that Hunter would subconsciously want to know if you were okay, but there's no way Zedd sent him alone unless there was a reason that Jason and Conner couldn't come." That would be another possibility they were unsure of.

"Do you think something's happened to Conner?" Kira asked suddenly, worry filling her eyes.

"Or Jason?" Kim added.

"I'm not sur…" Tommy began but was cut off by a series of beeps all around. Everyone's communicators went off simultaneously.

"Cam to Cyber Cam. What's up?" Cam asked, deciding to be the one to answer.

"We've got a problem. Those three are at the beach. They're not morphed though." Cyber Cam's voice said throughout everyone's wrists.

"We're on it." Cam looked up to Tommy, waiting for the signal.

He looked around at everyone, nodding. "Let's go!"

Man! I wanted to end this chapter WAY differently with two cliffhangers but I feel like it's just too damn much in one chapter! This is a bummer! I really wanted to end it with that way!

I'm not liking this chapter too much, it kind of sucks, hah! Let me know what you think!

Jackie


	23. Twists, Turns, and Traitors

So...it's been a long time, yet again, since a real update and I'm very sorry. I've wanted to reply and update for so long but I've just been…stuck! Every time I get ready to finally reply, meaning I re-read the entire story, I just, lose it. I hate that too because I really want to get this finished! I would hate to be a reader of this; I'd be annoyed by me. I hope that you all continue to read and like I've said many, many times… PLEASE REVIEW! I need those to keep me going!

P.S. I'm going to delete the UPDATE chapters, so if you haven't already read Chapter 21 & 22. they were edited a little bit. The parts with Rocky and Adam… you should probably read before going on to this one!

Venom

Chapter 23

"We thought you'd never show."

"You thought wrong. What do you want?" Shane asked as they reached the beach. No one had morphed, but they were all ready. Blake, Dustin, Tori, Kira, and Ethan were to Shane's right. Cam, Tommy, Kim, and Aisha were on his left. Across from them were Jason, Hunter, and Conner.

"So, it's true then. You're also a traitor." Jason said, his eyes on Dustin.

"What? I'm not a traitor. Dude, you're the one who's still tricked."

"Both of you are. Where's Adam? Didn't he run along to betray us as well?" Hunter asked, his eyes never leaving Blake's.

"Adam is safe, no thanks to you." Tommy remarked, his muscles tensing.

"No holding back this time; it's time for the Power Rangers to be no more." Jason said, beginning to morph. Hunter moved too, ready to morph. Conner just stood there. "What the hell are you doing?"

"What?" Conner asked, looking at them. He stumbled a little. His eyes were glazed over, as if he were drunk. The good guys were all prepared to morph, but no one moved yet.

"What are they doing?" Dustin whispered.

"I don't know." Shane responded.

"Do you think it's a trick?" Blake spoke up.

"I don't know."

Jason moved over to Conner, shaking his shoulder. "What's your de…" He trailed off, looking at Conner's feet. He looked up at Hunter, met his eyes, then looked down again. Hunter followed.

The necklace had been pulled off. Jason thought that either the two of them were strong enough to remove it, or the pulling and being sucked down to Earth may have helped. "What should we do."

"Conner! Conner, what's wrong?" Kira yelled, breaking from their line, running towards them.

"Kira! Stop!" Ethan yelled, running behind her. By them running, it caused everyone to begin running forward.

Jason felt them coming closer. Bending down, Jason grabbed a hold of the necklace, standing up again quickly. As he was standing up, he swung his arm out, pivoting on his step. His forearm hit Kira in the abdomen, sending her a few feet away. Ethan ran towards her, the others stopping.

"Enough of this!" Jason yelled, annoyed, going into morph stance once more.

Tommy prevented it, using his body weight to knock Jason and himself to the ground; the necklace falling out of his hand. It caught Tommy's eye. Jason shoved him, going for the necklace.

"The necklace! It's off of Conner. Get it!" Jason frowned, tossing it to Hunter. Hunter nodded before Ninja Streaking away. Dustin and Blake automatically streaked off after him.

"Tori, Cam. Follow them, make sure it's not a trap!" Shane yelled as he leaded them on following. The two nodded, going after Shane.

Jason and Tommy continued rolling about on the ground, trading punches. Kim and Aisha honestly, weren't sure what to do.

"Conner? Is that you? What's wrong?" Kira asked as she became within arms length of him; Ethan not too far behind her.

Conner's glazed look continued at first. Once Kira got into his line of vision, his face screwed up into a face of confusion before shaking his head. "What?" He blinked a few times, looking at her with those red eyes.

"Conner, it's me. It's Kira." She said, reaching out to touch him. Even before her hand touched his clothes, he swatted at her, backing away.

"You're a traitor. You've betrayed me! My own teammates!" He said quite angrily.

Jason kicked Tommy, sending him away from him. Kim and Aisha ran beside him, helping him up.

"Are you okay? Kim asked.

"I'm fine, I'm not sure if he is though." He commented, looking at Conner.

"Come on man. Get your shit together. Ready?" Jason asked, grabbing Conner by the front of his shirt. Conner nodded.

"Venom Rangers, Power Up!"

"Crap."

0000

-Billy, Haley, and Alpha had been cleaning up the mess that had befallen them during the fight. Thankfully, nothing had been hit too hard that couldn't be fixed. Billy was currently hunched down, staring at a few cords that were smashed outside of its original hardware device. One of the cords looked like it would need some tape, but besides that, an easy fix. He wasn't staring at it because he wasn't sure how to fix it; his mind was somewhere else.

"Billy? What's wrong?" Alpha asked. Haley was across the room who looked up when Alpha spoke. Her face showed deep concern.

"Nothing Alpha. I'm just worried about Adam." He answered, sighing.

"Adam is going to be okay, Rocky will make sure of that." The robot replied, patting Billy, rather roughly on the back.

He smiled at the realization that Alpha probably didn't know how hard metal hits bone. He rolled his shoulders, standing up.

"Why don't you call Rocky? Just check up?" Haley suggested as she set a few items on a table.

"That's a good idea." Billy said, reaching into his pocket to grab his cell phone. He went to his contacts, pressing 'r' then scrolling through a few names until he got to Rocky. He pressed call, waiting for it to connect.

..Ring.

"Hey guys, this is Rocky. Sorry I couldn't answer. Just leave me a message and I'll call you back! Later!" Billy frowned, shutting the phone.

Haley came beside him, seeing his frown. "Maybe he had to turn it off? Some hospitals make you because of the equipment, you know?"

That made sense. Billy looked at his wrist communicator. It looked ancient. He cleared his throat, pressing down on the side. "Billy to Rocky. Come in." He waited patiently. Sometimes it took them a minute to respond because they needed to get to somewhere secluded.

Billy bit the corner of his lip nervously. "Billy to Rocky. Come in." He repeated. He did it one more time after another non-response. "I'm worried. We always respond, no matter what. Do you think they got attacked?" Billy felt nervous. "Billy to Tommy. Come in."

"Can't…talk…they're back..are..you okay?" Tommy's voice was strained, which meant they must be fighting pretty badly.

"I'm fine. Call me after." Now Billy felt worse. "I can't stand this! Who knows what's going on with Adam and Rocky. Then, the rest of my team is out there fighting, but I'm here, unable to help them."

Haley placed her hand on his shoulder. "Billy, you're helping by getting Zordon back for everyone." We couldn't have done this without you?" She explained to him reassuringly.

He looked away for a moment before back to her. "Why don't we go see if they're at the hospital? I'm sure Alpha will be okay here. We can reprogram and fix the defense systems. That way no one can get back in here like before." She suggested.

After thinking for only a few moments, he nodded his head, moving towards the computer which had the defense system controls.

0000

It had only taken Billy ten minutes to reprogram and upgrade the defense system. After they did that, they made their way to the hospital. Though Rocky had taken the only transportation, it just happened that an old car was in the back, in the garage. Many of the cars hadn't been moved or touched in years; Billy was surprised to see them. Though he hadn't fought against Divatox or been a Turbo Ranger, he knew about the different cars. Being that he was the Blue ranger and all, he chose to take the blue automobile.

Fifteen minutes later, they were parking at the hospital. Billy didn't bother locking the doors; his gut was telling him something was wrong.

Walking in they approached the smiling receptionist.

"Can I help you?" She asked warmly.

"Yeah, I'm looking for a friend who was brought in here maybe a little more than an hour ago?" He guessed, knowing it hadn't been too much longer.

"Okay. What's their name?" She clicked on the computer, preparing to type.

"Adam. Adam Park."

"Just one minute." She typed in the name hitting enter. She glanced at the screen, clicking on something, then scrolling down.

"Yes. Mr. Adam Park. Brought in on lacerations over his torso. He's on the fourth floor, room, 423."

"Thank you." That said, Bill and Haley made their way towards the elevator. It opened right up and they got in eagerly, pressing the button to the floor they were looking for.

"He's okay. Rocky wouldn't let anything bad happen." Haley said, trying to reassure him, though his unease was beginning to lean on her.

"I know but something just doesn't feel right. Tommy is in the middle of a fight and responded but Rocky hasn't yet."

The elevator stopped, dinging to signal that they were on the floor. As they took a step out, a group of doctors and nurses came rushing by, forcing Billy to push himself and Haley back into the elevator for a moment. Billy poked his head out, watching them going around the corner instantly.

They walked out of the elevator, heading for Adam's room.

"416. 417. 418." Billy mumbled under his breath as they continued down the hall. "423." He said, moving the curtain.

"No one's in here." Haley said, knowing she was stating the obvious. They both walked into the room, glancing around. There was some red on the bed, proving that someone had been there. "Do you think they checked out already?"

"I don't think so or the receptionist would have known." It would have had to be in the records.

Billy walked to the end of the bed, grabbing the chart. "This is Adam's chart." Haley came to his side, looking over his shoulder to read what it said.

"It looks like it injuries weren't too deep. That's good to know, but where are they?"

"Can I help you?" Billy and Haley both jumped at the voice behind them. They turned, seeing a flushed doctor standing there.

"Oh well…we're looking for our friend. The receptionist said he was in this room and this is his chart, but, he's not here." Billy explained, handing her the chart.

"Where did you get this?" She asked Billy.

"Uhm, the, the chart? It was at the end of the bed."

"When I went to do my rounds on my patients, this one was missing. I couldn't find the chart. He's supposed to be my patient but, obviously he's not here." She said, irritation in her voice.

"Are you okay?" Haley asked, sensing that there was something wrong with the woman.

"Yes I'm fine. We've just got a situation here and I had to leave it to come check on a patient who's probably just skipped out instead." She set the chart down on the table beside her, sighing.

"Adam wouldn't skip out on anything. I know you've got to have his medical insurance and everything by now." Billy defended, getting a little angry that she would assume something like that.

"Then where is he?"

Before Billy could say anything, Haley cut him off. "A situation? What sort of situation?"

The doctor looked at the two for a minute, unsure if she should answer them or not. "Someone's been hurt. A lost patient found him; we're just not sure what's happened. It was one of my rooms and I should be looking after him but he's in critical condition, so another doctor has to take over." She explained, another sigh emitting from her. Haley got the feeling that she must be a relatively new doctor or something.

"Well, if we see Adam, we'll make sure he comes back and apologizes." Haley said, pressing on Billy's back for them to leave the room.

They walked out of the room, going back towards the main lobby. "I wonder what happened." Haley thought out loud. Before Billy could respond, he was cut off again. This time by shouts of, 'MOVE!' They both moved to the side, watching the doctors and nurses rushing by, pushing someone on a bed. There was four people pushing the bed, another keeping up with equipment that was attached to the person and blood everywhere.

Billy was in front of Haley, he seeing the person. "Oh my god. That's Rocky!"

0000

"Why did you bring back the injured ranger?" Zedd asked, obviously unhappy. He and Divatox were in another part of the ship that was on the topmost floors.

The room was rather small, with a bed in the center of it. On the bed was an unconscious Adam Park. He was strapped down and a minion was currently applying countless wires to him. His shirt was off and he was now dressed in shorts. Though he was unconscious, his face still shown restlessness and slight pain. A light sheet of sweat was over his body.

"You didn't say which one to bring! This one was easier. Besides, a ranger's a ranger." She told him defiantly, regretting it immediately since Zedd grabbed her arm painfully. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Look, if it doesn't work, we'll grab the other one."

"Yeah, if she didn't kill him anyways." A high pitched voice said from behind them.

Zedd looked at her questioningly. "He'll be fine. Those rangers never die." Divatox said in her defense, giving Rita a glare.

"For your sake, you better hope this one will work."

"So what's this for anyways?" Rita asked, looking at the machine the cords were attached to. It was a large concoction, a doorway like area in the center of it. Rita lightly touched it, it feeling very hot.

"Plan B."

0000

Well….I think this suites well enough for a new chapter. Like I usually do, it's another damn filler but I'm sort of tired and it's been a year since the last real update...so why not! Please review for me! Tell me what you think of dropping Kat and editing the story a little bit.


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